Women Prisoners and Child Birth in Prison

Prisoners of a nation are the most neglected citizen in terms of almost everything from basic amenities to basic human rights. And it becomes even more difficult for those prisoners who are expecting a child during their custody. Anyhow, women prisoners have some different needs that cannot be fulfilled in the normal prisons and with the prison system of India which deals with cumbersome problems like dilapidated infrastructure, over-crowded cells, uneatable food etc., the situation becomes more dangerous and labor some for a pregnant prisoner or her infant. Every year the number of female prisoners is growing at a faster rates than men. There are around 18,000 female prisoners in India in 2015, which is at its all-time high. And in this situation, over correctional system is not able to provide even separate cells for male and female prisoners in every district, let alone other amenities. In this paper, a comparative study has been done by the authors about the correctional systems of India and US. The paper highlights the different problems faced by pregnant women in prisons in the background of different cultures of both the nations. It also highlights the policies, rules and steps taken by the government to accommodate the special requirements of such inmates and their children, who are most vulnerable in this situation. Here, the authors also touches upon the situations such children have to face and what their life holds ahead when they are born in jails.