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An advocate, who was, was arrested near her residence in March 2024. Accused with a crime of "illicit association", she was jailed lacking proof. Weeks afterward, her family received a call to collect the remains of her infant child. The cause of death was not looked into, and her loved ones has no idea the circumstances or whether she received any care after birth.

A Worldwide Problem

Situations like these are not rare in prisons globally. Women carrying children are often kept in appalling situations and deprived of proper healthcare. Some miscarry, others go into labour and give birth unassisted in a prison cell. Devastatingly, infants die behind bars.

"Countries assume it’s a few of women so it’s insignificant, but that is a misconception," states a legal advocate working on female imprisonment.

"Detention is a harmful setting for women, especially not for someone who is pregnant," she explains. "Extensive research that demonstrates how harmful it is. Many prisons were built with male inmates in mind, so women were an afterthought."

Ignored Global Standards

Over 15 years since the creation of the UN's Bangkok Rules for the treatment of incarcerated women. This framework clearly say that incarceration should be a final option for pregnant women and that alternatives to detention should always be considered. Furthermore, they prohibit the use of shackles on women during labour.

Yet, these standards are routinely ignored around the world. "This is not viewed as a global gender-equality priority," argues the expert. "It is overlooked, and there’s a lot of shame and prejudice."

Critical Conditions in Overcrowded Prisons

In some countries, situations for expectant inmates are reported to be "exceptionally severe". Contact with relatives have been prohibited, and independent monitors are barred from entry. Accounts with formerly incarcerated women reveal beatings, torture, and being denied basic supplies. Some resort to trading sex with prison staff for nourishment or medical supplies.

"We has recorded pregnancy losses and the death of several infants … it is certain there are more," says a local lawyer.

It is also reported women who were chained to hospital beds during labour and gave birth while observed by male officers.

Severe Overpopulation and Its Consequences

Data shows some nations as having the highest prison occupancy levels in the world. Women are especially at risk to these situations. "There is seldom enough space to fully lie down," explains a human rights outreach director. "There exists a persistent lack of access to basic items."

Pregnant prisoners have been restrained to hospital beds before giving birth. Conditions for caring for an infant upon return in prison are alarming, as shown by cases of babies succumbing from illness and malnourishment behind bars.

Accounts from Different Continents

In Zambia, a past prisoner recalls being in a cell with expectant mothers. Doors were locked overnight. When someone started giving birth at night, the women were forced to fend for themselves. "We would be pleading. Others were praying. Others were hitting the floor and the doors, yelling: ‘Please come, somebody’s in labour!’"

These tragedies also happen in more developed countries. In one case, a teenager lost her daughter after giving birth unassisted in a cell. Her calls for help were ignored for an extended period, and she was forced to bite through the umbilical cord on her own.

Turning Trauma into Change

A number of survivors have decided to use their traumatic ordeals to advocate. In the US, a woman who lost her pregnancy in her cell set up an organisation. Her work has successfully advocated for legislation that ban restraints and isolation for pregnant inmates in multiple states.

A separate account comes from Argentina. A woman discovered she was pregnant after being given a prison term. When it came time to give birth, officers shackled her legs to the hospital bed. Doctors performed a C-section. As she recovered, they offered to sterilize her. "Why would you wish to have more children, if you’re a inmate?" they asked.

"My ordeal was medical abuse during childbirth. It should never have happened, but this is what women in prison go through," she stated. This trauma later informed provincial policies around childbirth in detention.

Alternatives and Solutions

Other countries have introduced policies regarding expectant mothers in the legal system. Among them are:

• Considering alternatives to detention for accused women who are mothers, expecting, or nursing mothers.
• Introducing home detention as an alternative to being held on remand, especially for expectant mothers.
• Permitting the deferral of sentences for pregnant women.

Experts and people with experience contend that, in most cases, pregnant women ought not to be in prison at all. "We must ask whether women should be criminalised for many issues in the first place," argues the advocate.

"Community-based solutions that address the underlying reasons of women entering the justice system – for example, poverty, violence and drugs – are truly what we should be focusing on."