The United States has the highest rate of women in prison in the world, and the rate of pregnant inmates is increasing. There is now a program in an Indiana prison that allows a handful of inmates to keep their babies after they give birth that is called the "Wee Ones Nursery". In the documentary it is stated that their are about 60 babies delivered by inmates from their prison each year. There are only ten rooms available in the maternity wing so it is very hard to qualify. To be able to qualify you must only have a sentence of 16 months or shorter. Since the inmates will be around other babies they must also be serving for non violent crimes and have no history of violence. For the inmates who do not qualify to keep their babies after labor, they are forced to give up their baby after 24 hours of giving birth. The babies are then taken by a family member or put into foster care until the mother is able to care for them out of prison.
The director of this program mentions that their is a lot of backlash towards this program. The biggest concern of the public was for the babies. Would spending their first months of life in a prison negatively impact their life? In my opinion, I think their lives would be impacted more being away from their mother's. The first months are crucial for the baby and mother to be able to bond. It could also motivate the mother's to start making better decisions. For the babies, it could show them to think about their actions as they get older so they don't end up in the same situation as their mother's. While watching the inmates that were staying in the maternity wing being interviewed, it was very heartwarming to see how much they cared for their babies. A lot of them were in prison for substance abuse but they all said that being able to see what motivates them to be better mother's definitely helps them control their impulses. They made some bad choices in their life but being able to be with their kids is motivating them to become better people.
I can see that it would be controversial, but I agree that the babies are better of with their mothers when possible. I would think having babies onsite would make the whole prison quieter and behavior more responsible. I wonder if anyone has looked at the effect on the larger community.
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