Zielinski Melissa J, Smith Mollee Steely, Stahman Alleigh
Psychiatric Research Institute, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, 4301 W. Markham Street, Little Rock, AR, 72205, USA.
Health Justice. 2024 Apr 13;12(1):16. doi: 10.1186/s40352-024-00268-7.
The extraordinary growth in women's incarceration over the past several decades has resulted in calls for expansion of research into their unique needs and experiences, including those related to pregnancy and perinatal care. However, while research into the health outcomes of women who are incarcerated while pregnant has grown, research on women's custodial and perinatal care patterns has remained nearly non-existent. Here, we sought to describe (1) the characteristics of the population of women who came to be incarcerated in a state prison system during pregnancy and (2) the characteristics of women's custodial and perinatal care patterns during and after incarceration.
We conducted a retrospective chart review of the population of women who received perinatal care while incarcerated in the Arkansas state prison system over a 5-year period from June 2014 to May 2019. Electronic medical records and state prison records were merged to form our study population. Data were from 212 women (Mage = 28.4 years; 75.0% non-Latina White) with a singleton pregnancy who received at least one obstetric care visit while incarcerated.
Drug-related convictions were the most common crimes leading to women's incarceration while pregnant, and violent crime convictions were rare. Nearly half (43.4%) of women who gave birth in custody did so within 90 days of admission and the great majority (80.4%) released within 1-year of giving birth, including 13.3% who released within 30 days.
The frequency with which women who became incarcerated while pregnant released from prison either prior to or shortly after giving birth was a striking, novel finding of this study given the implications for perinatal care disruption among a high-risk population and the harms of forced separation from infants within hours of birth.
Diversionary programs for pregnant women convicted of crimes, particularly in states without current access, are urgently needed and should be a priority for future policy work.
在过去几十年里，女性监禁人数急剧增长，这引发了人们对扩大研究她们独特需求和经历的呼吁，包括与怀孕和围产期护理相关的需求和经历。然而，尽管对孕期被监禁女性的健康结局研究有所增加，但关于女性监禁期间及围产期护理模式的研究几乎不存在。在此，我们试图描述：（1）孕期被监禁于州监狱系统的女性群体特征；（2）监禁期间及之后女性的监禁和围产期护理模式特征。
我们对2014年6月至2019年5月期间在阿肯色州监狱系统接受围产期护理的女性群体进行了回顾性病历审查。电子病历和州监狱记录合并形成我们的研究群体。数据来自212名单胎妊娠且在监禁期间至少接受过一次产科护理的女性（平均年龄=28.4岁；75.0%为非拉丁裔白人）。
与毒品相关的定罪是导致女性孕期被监禁的最常见罪行，暴力犯罪定罪很少见。近一半（43.4%）在监禁期间分娩的女性在入院后90天内分娩，绝大多数（80.4%）在分娩后1年内获释，其中13.3%在30天内获释。
鉴于这对高危人群围产期护理中断的影响以及在出生后数小时内被迫与婴儿分离的危害，本研究一个惊人的新发现是孕期被监禁的女性在分娩前或分娩后不久就从监狱获释的频率。
对于被定罪的孕妇，迫切需要实施转移项目，尤其是在目前无法获得此类项目的州，这应成为未来政策工作的重点。
