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MEDICAL YEAR
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Conclusion
Overall, current health and general practices in
prisons were not shown to have negative health ef-
fects on children born to incarcerated women.
Only one outcome was found to be negatively im-
pacted by incarceration: infant mortality, miscar-
1
riage and abortion. These findings highlight that
while incarceration may not have long-term effects
on the child's health, it is a determinant of whether
the child will be born or not. It is in our opinion
that this outcome alone provides sufficient evi-
dence that the care of incarcerated mothers needs
to improve. Across all prisons and jails in the country, there are stan- 8. Division of Reproductive Health, National Center for Chronic Dis-
dards set forth to ensure proper infant care, but correctional facilities ease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2020). Preterm Birth. Re-
are not required to abide by them, meaning that perinatal care is varied trieved from https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/
throughout the country. Improvements that could be made include maternalinfanthealth/pretermbirth.htm
14
preventing the use of shackles on pregnant women, providing them 9. Shapiro-Mendoza, C., Barfield, W., Henderson, Z., James, A.,
2
lower bunk beds, prenatal vitamins, rest time and two mattresses. Howse, J., Iskander, J., & Thorpe, P. (2016). CDC Grand Rounds:
Public Health Strategies to Prevent Preterm Birth. MMWR Morb
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