Maternity care reform in English prisons

"Should not future citizens who are born to pregnant women in prison be offered the same care as all other babies? Should pregnant women even be imprisoned? These are questions that have faced the state since the inception of the modern prison system in the nineteenth century."

"The basic requirement that all babies — and therefore all pregnant women — in prison should receive high quality maternity care on a consistent basis remains unmet in many ways. The current calls for the development of a Prison Service Order, which pays heed to the recommendations of the Birth Charter developed by the voluntary body, Birth Companions, could and should be implemented in full."

By Rachel Bennett

Published by History & Policy