Brown University, 272 George St, Providence, RI 02906, USA.
JAMA. 2011 Mar 2;305(9):923-9. doi: 10.1001/jama.2011.125. Epub 2011 Feb 8.
More than 6 million men and 1 million women are under US correctional control, be it jail, prison, probation, or parole. On any given day, about 250,000 women and adolescent girls are behind bars, a number well in excess of those documented for all other sovereign nations. Moreover, women and girls represent the fastest-growing segment of the prison and jail populations. Approximately 75% of these women are mothers of minor children (leaving 200,000 children "motherless") and as many as 10,000 may be pregnant. Primarily designed for male offenders, the US correctional system is struggling to meet the specialized needs of its female inmates. Although incarceration during pregnancy is both stressful and dehumanizing, most studies paradoxically document better outcomes for pregnancies managed behind bars than for women of similar socioeconomic status whose pregnancies are managed in the community. Using the case of Ms A as a springboard for discussion, the issues, benefits, and challenges of caring for an incarcerated pregnant woman are addressed, as is the importance of family planning services to those about to be released.
超过 600 万男性和 100 万女性受到美国监管机构的控制，无论是在监狱、看守所、缓刑还是假释期间。在任何一天，大约有 25 万名妇女和少女被监禁，这个数字远远超过了其他所有主权国家记录的数字。此外，妇女和女孩是监狱和看守所人口中增长最快的群体。这些妇女中约有 75%是未成年子女的母亲（留下 20 万名“无母”的孩子），多达 10000 名可能怀孕。美国监管机构主要针对男性罪犯设计，目前正在努力满足其女性囚犯的特殊需求。尽管怀孕期间被监禁既紧张又不人道，但大多数研究矛盾地记录了在监狱中管理的怀孕结果比类似社会经济地位的在社区中管理的怀孕结果更好。以 A 女士的案例作为讨论的起点，讨论了照顾被监禁的孕妇的问题、好处和挑战，以及计划生育服务对即将获释的人的重要性。
