May 18, 2009: Prison Babies

[xoxoxoBruce]

Not prison babes unfortunately, prison babies. Babies born to women in prison.

A prison might sound like an odd place for a baby, but the Indiana Women’s Prison nursery is one of seven to open since the late 1990s. Studies have shown that allowing newborns to live with their mothers in jail, as opposed to being separated within 72 hours of birth; standard practice in states without nurseries, benefits children and reduces recidivism among offenders.

No need to worry about children raised in a prison environment...

Inmates sentenced to longer than 18 months are ineligible for the nursery program because of limited space and rules preventing children older than a year and a half from participating.

Evidently, women having more than 18 months left on their sentence when they give birth have to do it the old way, which is give up the babies within 72 hours.

link