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Birth Experiences During Incarceration & the Need for Doula Care

A report of the Birth Support Working Group

Born Inside, a report produced by the Birth Support Working Group, offers a powerful window into the experiences of pregnancy during incarceration and the supports pregnant people need and deserve while inside. Based on the insight and expertise of women who gave birth in prison, Born Inside details findings and recommendations to address the deeply harmful conditions that incarcerated pregnant people face, and shines a light on the critical role that doulas can play in supporting pregnant people behind the walls.

The Birth Support Working Group (BSWG) was formed in the wake of New York’s 2021 Birth Support Law, which allows incarcerated pregnant people to have a support person and a doula, if available, present during labor and delivery. Convened by the Women & Justice Project in partnership with Hour Children, the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, and the Department of Global Health and Health Systems Design at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, members include individuals who have experienced pregnancy during incarceration, reproductive justice and healthcare advocates, social work and doula providers, and medical professionals who care for incarcerated people. The BSWG’s main focus is to identify ways to improve care, especially doula care, for pregnant people in New York’s prisons and jails.

Over 18 months, the BSWG held a series of in-depth conversations with women who gave birth while incarcerated. These interviews form the basis of Born Inside’s findings and recommendations.

Having them [doulas] in the delivery room with you, having them be there to advocate for you, having them be there to reassure you…I think is just so important for pregnant women and the child.
…I remember them forcing me to throw out almost 60 bottles of breast milk I bottled for my son…I feel like the doulas would serve a beautiful purpose, they would be the whistleblowers [and say] it is unacceptable this is going on.
…they treat you unfairly because you're an inmate. It's traumatic…it makes you feel like you're not anything worth anything. You're not in control of anything.
If I could describe one feeling, it would be the loneliness. The feeling alone, feeling isolated….
I wish that [a doula] was available when I gave birth, because my process was such a lonely process because I didn't have anyone there.
…what kept me going was the women in there. They made me maternity pillows out of blankets and sheets…no matter what their charge was, that they had a good soul…
Once I got into the nursery, you know, you build bonds. They’re family….you learn a lot from the people that surround you.
Nobody said, ‘Oh, I'm having postpartum depression. Give me some Prozac.’ Nobody said that. Literally, I just need to get air, I need to talk. I just need a little bit of time. And you don't get that there.
I finally went to rec two times the whole time I was in Rikers Island – twice. That's literally inhumane for you to be kept from air, fresh air and sunlight that provides vitamin D that we as humans need. It's crazy that we're confined like that.
I literally walked all the way down to the van, fresh after a C-section…then when you get to Bedford, you have to go through the whole basement and elevator, then walk in. I felt like my whole bottom area was on fire by the time I made it to the room.
[I]t really doesn't matter if you're innocent, guilty, what your circumstances are. Once you have that DIN number, they're gonna treat you accordingly.

Born Inside report

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Born Inside Executive Summary

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Hospitals & Healthcare Providers 1-pager

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Policymakers 1-pager

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More info & ways to get involved

Learn about the HOPE & Growing HOPE programs which offer free doula care.  These programs were created by Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine’s Arnold Institute of Global Health, NYC Health + Hospitals, Ancient Song Doula Services, and Caribbean Women’s Health Association.

Learn about Bloom Project NY which supports the well-being of expecting and new parents and families during the transitions of the childbearing years.

Join the Care Act Coalition coordinated by New Hour for Women & Children.  The CARE Act would make critical improvements to reproductive healthcare in New York’s prisons and jails, and establish stronger protections for the rights of incarcerated pregnant people, including in medical care, nutrition, access to information, emotional support, breastfeeding, and parent-child bonding. 

Support the Protect In Person Visiting Bill to ensure that New York’s prisons and jails cannot reduce or eliminate in-person visits in favor of video conferencing.  The Osborne Association’s NY Initiative for Children of Incarcerated Parents coordinates the Protect In-Person Visiting advocacy effort. 

Check out WJP’s infographics: Incarcerated Women: Pregnancy, Childbirth, & Shackling and Incarcerated Mothers & Their Children 

Watch short videos created in support of New York’s successful 2015 Anti-Shackling campaign: 

Read Reproductive Injustice: The State of Reproductive Health Care for Women in New York State Prisons , the most comprehensive study ever conducted about reproductive health care in a state prison system.