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55 J. Offender Rehab. 1 (2016)

handle is hein.journals/wjor55 and id is 1 raw text is: JOURNAL OF OFFENDER REHABILITATION 2016, VOL. 55, NO. 1, 1-20 Routledge http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10509674.2015.1107001 Taylor& Francis Group Prison nurseries: Experiences of incarcerated women during pregnancy Stephanie Fritz and Kevin Whiteacre Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, University of Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA ABSTRACT KEYWORDS The rate of incarceration for women has risen dramatically in the Correctional programming; past three decades. Many incarcerated women are pregnant female offenders; upon incarceration and give birth in prison. Prison nurseries incarcerated mothers; allow women to remain with their newborn babies within the offender rehabilitation; prison for a specified span of time. Evidence suggests such qualitative research; prison programs increase mother-child attachment, improve parenting nursery efficacy, and reduce participant recidivism. Through interviews with 27 formerly incarcerated women who gave birth while in prison, the present study compares the birth experiences of women participating in a prison nursery program and a group of women giving birth prior to implementation of the program. Introduction The growth in women's incarceration rates in the United States is well documented (Carson, 2014; Chesney-Lind, 2002; Pollock, 2013; The Sentencing Project, 2012). Though women still comprise a small percentage (about 7%) of the total prison population, their incarceration rate has been growing faster than men's in recent decades (Carson, 2014; Chesney-Lind, 2002; Pollock, 2013). Between 1990 and 2001, the number of incarcerated women increased by 114% compared to 80% for men (Pollock, 2013). Between 2003 and 2012, the average annual growth for women prisoners was 1.2% compared to 0.7% for men, and female prisoners sentenced to more than a year in state or federal prison grew by almost 3% between 2012 and 2013, while male prisoners increased 0.2% (Carson, 2014). The number of parents incarcerated in state and federal prisons increased by 79% between 1991 and mid-year 2007 (Glaze & Maruschak, 2008). In 2004, approximately 71% of mothers in prison were the sole primary caregivers for their minor children, compared to 26% of incarcerated fathers (Glaze & Maruschak, 2008). Between 1991 and 2007, the number of children with a mother in prison also increased 131% (Glaze & Maruschak, 2008). Of the estimated 74 million children in the U.S. resident population who were under age 18 on July 1, 2007, 2.3% had a parent in prison. Black children (6.7%) CONTACT Stephanie Black Fritz 0 fritzs@uindy.edu (D Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, University of Indianapolis, 1400 E. Hanna Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46227, USA. 0 2016 Taylor & Francis