Calls for urgent review over number of pregnant women being sent to prison

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Midwives have warned that too many pregnant women are being sent to prison in the wake of two babies dying behind bars in England in the last three years.

Birte Harlev-Lam, executive director midwife at the Royal College of Midwives, told The Independent jail “is no place for pregnant women”.

Her warning comes after a woman gave birth to a stillborn baby in the toilet in Styal prison in Cheshire in 2020 after a nurse incorrectly claimed her stomach cramps were due to a “painful period” – with the 31-year-old receiving no specialist medical care or pain relief during labour.

While an 18-year-old woman saw her baby die in childbirth at Bronzefield prison in Surrey in 2019 after she was left to give birth alone in her prison cell even though she asked for help a number of times.

Ms Harlev-Lam said: “While there has been some progress in the training and guidance given to magistrates and judges, there are still too many custodial sentences being handed down to pregnant women.

“Many of these women are vulnerable, and prison poses a considerable risk to their health and well-being and that of their babies.

“Access to good, or even adequate, maternity care is poor, and we have already seen the tragic consequences of that. The criminal justice system must change.”

Government data shows there were an average of 26 pregnant women in jail per week in the nine months leading up to March 2021 – with 31 births taking place.

While in 2021/22, there were an average of 29 pregnant women locked up behind bars, with 50 births in this period.

Although female inmates are legally allowed to keep their babies for the first 18 months in a secure mother and baby prison unit, the vast majority of children are separated from their mothers once born.

Janey Starling, co-director of feminist campaign group Level Up, explained the Ministry of Justice only started releasing data on the amount of pregnant women in prison in mid-2020 – noting the data could only previously be obtained via Freedom of Information requests.

She added: “Since two high-profile baby deaths in the last three years, there has been growing public concern over the practice of holding pregnant women in prison.

“The state is now having to be accountable and publish this data and not let these women remain invisible in the system.”

Ms Janey called forjudges and government ministers to “listen to the experts” and recognise jail “will never be a safe place” to be expecting a child.

Ms Starling added: “Pregnant people, new mothers and infants will never receive equivalence of care to those in the community – the only way to keep them safe is to end the inhumane practice of sending them there in the first place.

“The government and sentencing council can and must change sentencing and bail practices. Other countries have laws against sending pregnant women and new mothers to prison, it can be done.”

It comes after campaigners and health experts penned a letter, spearheaded by Level Up, to the justice secretary, Brandon Lewis, and the Sentencing Council for England and Wales arguing an urgent review must be carried out into the sentencing of pregnant women offenders.

The letter, sent over the weekend, draws attention to research which found pregnant women in jail are five times more likely to endure a stillbirth than women in the non-prison population. Parents, toddlers and babies gathered outside HMP Bronzefield, Europe’s largest women’s prison, on Saturday to voice their opposition to the imprisonment of pregnant women.

Frontline service providers have previously warned that women in prison are often the victims of more serious offences than those for which they have been convicted.

A previous report by the Prison Reform Trust found that 80 per cent of women in jail were there for non-violent offences, while Ministry of Justice data shows almost half of all female prisoners in England and Wales say they committed their offence to support the drug use of someone else.

Lily*, who lives in London, previously The Independent she was forced to sleep in grim conditions while imprisoned for six months on remand and denied bail twice while pregnant.

The 30-year-old, who was separated from her other child while jailed, was later found not guilty and released.

She said: “When I first got there I was on a normal wing. I was pregnant in a double room on a top bunk. One of the ladies found out I was pregnant. She said: ‘It’s not safe for you to be up there’.”

Lily, who was then moved to a wing for vulnerable prisoners, said shortages of prison officers led to the health of pregnant women on her wing being placed at risk.

“Prison is not good for the health of the baby,” she said. “They cannot meet your health or social needs. The babies are not prisoners. You hear horror stories of prison officers assisting live births when they are not medically trained.”

A representative for the Ministry of Justice said “custody is already a last resort for most women” as they stated they had made substantial “improvements” for imprisoned pregnant women.

The spokesperson added: “We now have specialist mother and baby liaison officers in every women’s prison, have put in place additional welfare observations and carry out better screening and social services support so that pregnant prisoners get the care they require.

“The number of women entering prison has fallen by 24 per cent since 2010 and we are investing millions into community services like women’s centres and drug rehabilitation so even fewer women end up there.”

*Name changed to protect identity