People love to talk about how and where women should give birth. Birth without drugs is barbaric! Epidurals are evil! Do it in the tub! No, no, do it on the bed! Do it at home! Don't even think about doing it at home!
But no one ever seems to talk about giving birth in shackles.
According to this heartbreaking article by Marion Wright Edelman, President of The Children's Defense Fund, the birth experiences of incarcerated women are humiliating, lonely, and sorrowful. And while relatively few women give birth while in prison, over two-thirds of all women in jail have young children. Children who live with relatives, or are in foster care. Children who, in most cases, live more than 100 miles from where their mothers are imprisoned.
Edelman advocates for more programs like Girl Scouts Behind Bars, which allows mothers and daughters to get together for regular troop meetings. And while my own exerience with Girl Scouts sort of felt like jail, I actually think this is a really hopeful idea. She also supports programs that allow for overnight visits, sustained phone or video contact, and the creation of more nurseries to provide care for young children.
Because your mother is your mother, even when she's in jail.
photo source: Getty Images
