Pregnant women in British prisons are three times more likely to be diagnosed with gestational diabetes, according to new “surprising” data.
Figures obtained through the Freedom of Information (FOI) request are requests from the NHS Trust, which provides health care to women's prisons in the UK, with 12% of women receiving pregnancy-related care in 2023. He was diagnosed with a condition and a national figure of 4% was diagnosed.
Gestational diabetes occurs when the body is unable to produce enough insulin to meet the extra needs of pregnancy. It can lead to complications during pregnancy and can increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life.
Laura Abbott, a midwifery professor at Hertfordshire University, said these numbers were “surprising, but not surprising.”
“We have known for many years that premature birth is more common among pregnant women who are incarcerated, which further highlights the serious health risks they face,” she says. I did. “Gestational diabetes increases the risk of hypertension and pre-lamp syndrome, serious conditions requiring early detection, good nutrition and careful obstetric management. This is extremely difficult in a prison setting. Also, stillbirth is could increase the risk of
Between April 2023 and March 2024, there were 215 pregnant women in prisons in the UK. Published numbers By the Ministry of Justice. There were 52 births in detention, 98% of which took place in hospitals.
The NHS and the Prison Ombudsman classify all pregnancies within the prison as high risk. Pregnant women in prisons are seven times more likely to suffer stillbirth and twice as likely to result in a stillbirth, according to data from the 2022 FOI request. In high sex, the newborn Aisha Cleary died in HMP Bronzefield after her mother in prison. He was left to remand and gave birth alone in her cells. Louise Powell, who gave birth to a stillbirth baby in the toilet at HMP & Yoi Styal in 2020, said that after her emergency call was not answered, Guardian Last year: “Women don't need to give birth behind the bar.”
Asked to remain anonymous, Amelia became pregnant for 16 weeks when she entered prison, and was later diagnosed by a prison midwife with gestational diabetes. The NHS recommended a specific diet plan to help manage the condition, but Amelia said the prison refused to implement it and refused additional supplements and prescriptions. She said she was given moldy fruit: “I remember being given them raspberries that had blue fur, and when I complained to the officer, I said, was told it was a privilege to get fruit.”
Despite the additional risks associated with gestational diabetes, Amelia missed a midwife appointment during pregnancy, causing hypertension and sciatica. “I had a miscarriage before, and this was my miraculous pregnancy. I was afraid I would lose another baby,” she said.
Amelia's sentence was reversed during her pregnancy, and a week after her release she was prematurely born and had an urgent c-section. “I'm a very strong person, but I'm mentally hurt by the experience of being pregnant in prison. I still woke up sweating from the night terror and now rarely leave my house. No. Prisons are very unhealthy. Not just mothers, but babies too. I am very grateful to go out, but the effects of getting pregnant in prison will be eternal.”
Last April, the Judgment Council introduced pregnancy as a mitigation factor for judges during the verdict. As an independent ruling review released its first findings last week and the government's newly appointed Commission on Women's Justice has begun work, Reduce the number of women sent to prisonHe is called to end the incarceration of pregnant women.
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“Prisons are not a place for pregnant women. “The RCM is radical in sentences for pregnant women,” said Claire Livingston, professional policy advisor at Royal College of Midwives. We believe reform is necessary. We should aligned to ensure that all aspects of the criminal justice system are kept together, as long as possible, for the best interests of the child. I think so.”
Janey Starling, co-director I'll level upThe Feminist Campaign Group said: “Prisons will not be a safe place for pregnant women. Several other countries, including Costa Rica and Brazil, have laws against the use of incarceration for pregnant women and mothers. Governments are international best practices It is time to follow and end the deep, cruel practice of imprisonment of pregnant women, mothers and babies.”
A government spokesman said: “This account is deeply concerned, and this is an example of why the Prime Minister set up the Women's Justice Committee, which will lead to fewer women in prison, especially pregnant or mothers.
“We have specialized midwives and pregnancy, and we have mothers and baby liaison officers in every female prison. NHS England currently treats all pregnancies in prison as clinically high risk. .”
