Improving maternity provision for incarcerated women in the UK

Two newborn babies died in UK prisons in 2019-20 and another died in transit to hospital in 2017. The unique challenges faced by women in detained settings were highlighted in the Corston report in 2007, but these deaths drew widespread attention to the serious shortcomings and substandard care for perinatal women in prison. The systemic problems need tackling urgently to protect the health of pregnant women, new mothers, and babies while in criminal justice settings. Women constitute about 4% of the overall prison population in England and Wales and tend to receive shorter sentences than men, usually for non-violent crimes. The decision to incarcerate pregnant women is a political one, with 11 countries, including Spain, Mexico, and Italy, prohibiting or severely limiting it. Research on care of pregnant women in prison in the UK is sparse, despite evident similarities in the underuse of mother and baby placements in prisons across the world.