Prison Policy - Given the lack of transparency from jails about pregnancies, birth outcomes, and other facets of reproductive care, a team of student researchers is drawing attention to this data blind spot. The Birth in Jails Media Project, which draws entirely from local news coverage of jail births, provides a rich picture of how some pregnant people experience incarceration, labor, and childbirth, with more detail about jail conditions and staff responses than a national dataset can typically provide...
While the 35 mothers and newborns included in these cases are likely a small and unrepresentative share of all jail births between 2013 and 2023, their stories are powerful calls to action: Pregnant people in jails are in dire need of proper and timely care, and their experiences cannot continue to go undocumented. Lawsuits filed by mothers and advocates, our Media Project partners note, can be credited for moving the needle in some states, but too many stories remain in the shadows.
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