A lady gave delivery alone in a jail cell in Tennessee on Tuesday after searching for medical consideration for greater than an hour, the authorities mentioned, elevating questions in regards to the care supplied to the girl and her child.
The episode highlights points in regards to the incarceration of ladies and drew criticism from jail reform advocates who’ve raised issues about pregnant ladies in prisons or jails being ignored and put in danger.
The girl, whose identify has not been made public, was incarcerated on the Montgomery County Jail in Clarksville, Tenn., about 50 miles northwest of Nashville, when she notified a deputy at 11:31 a.m. a few “medical concern,” in keeping with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.
A nurse arrived a couple of minutes later, the sheriff’s workplace mentioned.
The nurse assessed the girl after which left to seek the advice of with different medical employees members. Another nurse arrived at 11:54 a.m. to “conduct a follow-up assessment,” in keeping with the sheriff’s workplace. The medical employees members left to proceed to “assess the situation and order additional medical tests,” the sheriff’s workplace mentioned.
However, at 12:41 p.m., a deputy went to the cell and “discovered that the inmate had given birth while in her cell,” the sheriff’s workplace mentioned. The deputy helped the girl whereas medical employees members had been alerted.
The girl and her child had been taken to a hospital, the place they remained in secure situation and underneath hospital care as of Tuesday, the sheriff’s workplace mentioned.
It was unclear why the girl was not taken to a hospital earlier than she gave delivery, and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, which operates the jail, didn’t instantly reply to calls searching for touch upon Saturday.
It was additionally unclear whether or not medical or jail employees would face any type of self-discipline. The sheriff’s workplace mentioned it performed a assessment of what occurred however supplied no further particulars.
The episode underscored that there’s successfully no nationwide customary of care for girls who’re incarcerated and pregnant, although most correctional amenities have insurance policies.
State Senator Raumesh Akbari, a Democrat, described what occurred as “troubling.”
“It is a concern that women are treated with dignity, and their child,” Ms. Akbari mentioned in an interview on Saturday evening. “If they are incarcerated, that they are in a safe environment, and that they have the same rights and protections that they would for themselves and their child regardless of their incarceration status.”
Penal Reform International, a nongovernmental group that promotes honest and efficient felony justice methods, mentioned that girls who give delivery whereas incarcerated normally achieve this in a hospital.
A examine printed within the American Journal of Public Health in 2019 discovered that from 2016 to 2017, a majority of jail pregnancies led to stay births or miscarriages.
“The far-reaching consequences of the health of incarcerated people for the public’s health and that of broader society are well documented,” the authors of the examine wrote. “These consequences are compounded for incarcerated pregnant women given that incarceration affects not only their health but also that of subsequent generations.”
In 2021, Minnesota turned the primary state to finish the apply of separating incarcerated moms from their newborns.
The regulation, often known as the Healthy Start Act, states that pregnant and postpartum inmates may be positioned into different housing with their newborns for as much as one yr after delivery. Previously, newborns had been taken from their incarcerated moms inside 72 hours of delivery.
Across the nation, most incarcerated moms are allowed in the future with their newborns within the hospital, in keeping with the American Medical Association. The infants are positioned with kinfolk or in foster care whereas the moms are returned to jail or jail.
Dr. Carolyn Sufrin, an affiliate professor of gynecology and obstetrics on the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine who has researched pregnancies in prisons, wrote in 2018 that “early identification of pregnancy is important to ensure that women receive appropriate prenatal care or, if abortion care is desired, timely referral.”
Dr. Sufrin mentioned that whereas “being pregnant while incarcerated presents unique physical and psychological challenges,” being pregnant shouldn’t be considered by the felony justice system “as a disease, disorder or malady, and the institution should provide a healthy environment where a woman can safely care for her developing fetus.”
Some ladies have filed lawsuits after giving delivery in jail.
NBC Washington reported {that a} Maryland girl claimed her cries for assist had been ignored as she gave delivery on the ground of a jail cell in Washington County. A lady in Kentucky who gave delivery alone within the Franklin County Regional Jail in 2017 filed a lawsuit towards the county and obtained a $200,000 settlement, The Lexington Herald-Leader reported.
Source: www.nytimes.com