Essay On Pregnant Women In Prison

When discussing the prison system, you usually talk about men’s prisons, how people of color are subjected to being incarcerated more often than white people, and the school to prison pipeline. I’m not trying to say that these topics aren’t valid (which they are), but more so about the fact that we don’t usually acknowledge what incarcerated pregnant women are and aren’t entitled to and the problems they face.
Though being in prison isn’t the best thing, no matter who you are, we can agree pregnant women would have it the worst. You’re constantly sore, you’re tired, hungry, feeling nauseous. Imagine having to deal with the stress of getting put into prison and finding out you’re pregnant (If you’re in the early stages of the first trimester). In most cases, it won’t hurt your baby severely, but if it persists you may have a problem. Luckily, I’m here to tell …show more content…
If you think about it, since one in three women are victims of domestic abuse (kidpower.org). 25% are pregnant (theprisonbirthproject.org), so you’re going to expect some of those women to be victims of domestic abuse. Why is it better? Being incarcerated is safer for her and her baby. She won’t have to stress about her partner attempting to hurt her and for her unborn child’s safety. Being in an abusive relationship is a very unhealthy cycle many women can’t escape, so being incarcerated can get the mother away from her abusive partner. Another pro is having a stable home. You won’t be homeless as long as you’re in prison. Homelessness is another very common thing for many reasons, but even if it isn’t the ideal place you’d like to stay at, it is something. Being in prison may be very scary at first, but you’re somewhat safe. From Ashley Jacob’s story I read in “The Voices of Witness Reader”, she said the inmates she met were very kind to her and gave her the bottom bunk, carried her things and were overall very