SJC Exchange Library

Originally posted by Wanda Bertram on 05/15/2025

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We recapped, and put into context, the new data from BJS on pregnancy and maternal health in state and federal prisons. Our briefing notes that while BJS's report offers long-overdue data on pregnancy behind bars, its findings raise questions, such as why pregnancy rates in prisons appear significantly lower than previous studies showed. We also call on BJS to conduct more research on how many pregnant people are benefiting from pre- and post-natal care (as opposed to how much care is nominally offered).