Babies Behind Bars

Abstract

Prison nursery programs give pregnant incarcerated women the opportunity to keep their infants with them while serving their sentences. Duration of the program is facility dependent, but can last anywhere from 30 days to 30 months. The number of incarcerated women of childbearing age (on average between ages 16-49) has steadily increased over the years (Chambers, 2009, p. 204). With a 9% increase of women giving birth while imprisoned, the need for ongoing research is becoming increasingly more prevalent. Prison nursery programs allow for mothers and infants to bond, which is critical in their first year of life for their overall future development. Failure to establish an effective bond places a child at risk for developmental delays, decreased social skills, and an increased likelihood for time served later in life. From the nursing perspective, inadequate bonding and childhood development can pose a threat to the child’s, the mother’s, and the community’s well-being. The aim of this evidence-based practice brief is to examine effective mother-infant attachment and the impact on childhood development while enrolled in a prison nursery program compared to infants who are separated from incarcerated mothers immediately after birth.