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Abstract: 

Approximately three to four percent of the over 111,000 incarcerated women in the United States are pregnant at the time of their admission to prison. In addition to health risks faced by all incarcerated women, pregnant inmates are likely to have poor perinatal outcomes, including preterm births and small for gestational age infants. One study published in 2008 revealed that only 54% of pregnant women in state prisons had received some type of pregnancy care. A recent study, “Doulas\' Perspectives about Providing Support to Incarcerated Women: A Feasibility Study” by Rebecca J. Shlafer, Wendy Hellerstedt, Molly Secor-Turner, Erica Gerrity, and Rae Baker, published in 32 Public Health Nursing 316 found that doulas were well-suited to provide professional services to pregnant incarcerated women. This review summarizes the main findings of this study.

Keywords: Inmate Pregnancy Care

Affiliations:  1: Pace University School of Law.