What Life Is Like For Children Who Are Raised In Prison

A Handful Of US Prisons Allow Female Inmates To Stay With Their Newborns

In the United States, most of the 2,000 or so inmates who give birth in prisons must give up their infants soon after delivery. However, there are some exceptions. Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women in Bedford Hills, New York, is one of the few women’s prisons in the country that allows some prisoners to keep their newborn babies with them. Some of these mothers can keep their children until they are 18 months old. The Bedford program is for nonviolent offenders only. Women who are convicted of violent crimes, arson, or illegal activities involving children do not qualify.

See why a pediatrician says it’s a good thing for incarcerated women to have their children with them next.