The Birth Attendants is a grass roots collective providing informational, physical and emotional resources to incarcerated women and mothers that enhances and extends their reproductive choices.
“THERE ARE PREGNANT WOMEN IN PRISON?”
7.5 million people in the U.S. are in prison, on parole or probation.
4%-7% of women in prison are pregnant - the same percentage as in the general population.
75% are mothers of children under 18 years of age. (that's 2 in 3 women who are mothers of young children.)
80% were the primary care givers of their children prior to incarceration.
More than 50% of female prisoners are incarcerated for non-violent crimes of poverty.
More than 8.3 million children have a parent under correctional supervision.
1.7 million children have a parent in state or federal prison.
More than half of these children never get to see their mothers while they are away, due to distance and financial hardship.