Babies Behind Bars

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Attachment refers to a specific aspect of the relationship that a child has with its caregiver that is meant to make the child feel safe, secure, and protected. The theory remains to be one of the most empirically grounded and popular theories pertaining to parenting. Worth noting, the purpose of attachment is not to entertain or play with them; this would be the playmate’s or parent’s role. Additionally, neither is attachment meant to feed the child, test its limits nor teach them new skills. This would be the work of their caregiver, disciplinarian, or teacher respectively. Attachment provides an opportunity for the caregiver to provide the child with a secure base that serves as a source of comfort and a haven for safety (Benoit, 2004). Worth noting, attachment should not be confused with bonding. It is unfortunate that both non-professional and professionals continue to use the two terms interchangeably. The latter was coined by Klaus and Kennel, who opined that a parent-child bond relied on skin-to-skin contact was critical in the initial period. When asked to describe secure attachment, the picture that comes to the minds of most professionals is a mother breastfeeding a baby while in a good mood or a father engaging their child in activities like fishing expeditions or playing volleyball. What makes attachment different and beneficial is that it is a powerful determinant of children’s later emotional and social outcomes. According to recent longitudinal research, having a loving caregiver and developing a secure and organized attachment to them acts as a protection against emotional and social maladjustment for children and infants.

Background of American Prisons

Around 1871, prisoners were deemed to be slaves of the state and had no rights. This notion was tossed aside between the early 1900s and mid-1900s when the hands of doctrine emerged. In line with this doctrine, courts refrained from intervening and could not adjudicate the constitutional rights of prisoners. They did not feel that it was their place to define prisoners’ power and safeguard their rights. By the 1970s, the courts had let go of the hands-off doctrine. In 1974, a decision by the Supreme Court in the Wolff v. McDonnell case declared that it would offer prisoners with some protections in spite of their loss of liberty. The maiden prison institution for women in the United States was established in 1873 in Indiana, housing around 40-60 people. By 1920, five more women’s prisons were added, including Minnesota, California, Arkansas, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania. Seventy years later, there were women’s prisons in about half of all states. 1980s saw a boom in the expansion of women’s prisons that proceeded into the 1990s. By 1997, there was at least one female facility in all 50 states bringing the total to 108 facilities. By the end of 2000, nearly 93 234 women were convicted to state and federal prisons and by 2010, the number had risen to about 112 822. The United States has the leading prison population rate globally, with 716 incarcerations per 100,000. More than half of remaining countries boast a rate of 150 per 100, 000. These are unprecedented numbers in both the country’s history and that of liberal democracy. Currently, the United State prison population stands at 2.2 million, mainly due to the unreliance that the imprisonment system has shown over the previous decades (Bretherton, 2010). Criminal law has been framed in such a way that imposes punishment for misconduct instead of rewarding good conduct. Essentially, more emphasis is often on preventing undesirable behavior than encouraging desirable behavior. This method of punishment begs the question of whether prisoners are sent to prison as a punishment or for punishment.

Some of the pros of the Wee Ones Nursery Program is that it has been found to have a good outcome for both the mother and the child. Such programs reduce re-offending rates significantly compared to their counterparts that do not make it into the program. Additionally, the programs bolster mother-child attachment. According to research, infants that have been brought up in prison nurseries have been found to have the same attachment as ordinary children in society. The first year of development is very fundamental for children’s growth and children that stay with their mothers in prison present with lower amounts and depression compared to incarcerated ones. On the downside, nursery programs can be costly to run. This explains the competition and limited slots that are available on the program. Additionally, critics say that women may purposely get pregnant to access the more comfortable living conditions that come with being part of the program.

Guidelines for Indiana Prison

There were various guidelines for the Wee Ones Prison Nursery program at Indiana Women’s Prison. To be eligible for the program, the inmate must not have been convicted of a violent criminal offense in their life. Additionally, for them to become part of the program, they should be remaining with a sentence of 18 months or less. Additionally, women prisoners were required to have given to a healthy baby for them to be allowed to keep their children with them. The experience was beneficial to some women and traumatizing and disappointing for others. The Indiana facility newborn unit could only accommodate ten newborns at every one time. According to the Babies Behind Bars (2014) documentary around 40 women were pregnant at every one time. This made competition tight. Women that did not meet the eligibility criteria had no option but to let go of their child within 24 hours of giving birth. The children were put in foster care or under the care of a family member with visitation rights. The experience was difficult for women that were not eligible but satisfying for those that made it into the program.

Intervention Studies and Outcomes

One of the studies conducted in relation to the prison nursery program was the mentoring program. Shlafer and Poehlmann carried out multi-informant multi-method studies in the context of a mentoring program for children whose parents had been incarcerated (Elmalak, 2015). The research employee, particularly fathers. Although the program was unsuccessful, it established that researchers should not assume that children with imprisoned planets view them as attachment figures or that they are interested in communicating with them.

Personal Opinion and Suggestions

In my viewpoint, prison nursery initiatives are a brilliant idea. They provide a perfect way for women offenders to serve their sentences while they serve their sentence at the same time. There can only be good outcome for both the mother and the infant. It gives them an opportunity to create a lasting bond between mother and babies. It is enough reason to help them become better versions of themselves for the sake of their children. To improve the program, the parties involved should find a way to find the required resources by writing proposal for funding. This way, they can develop a bigger new-born unit in the prison that will accommodate a substantial amount of pregnant women. This way, a lot of women will not have to be excluded from the program.

Works Cited

Benoit, D. (2004). Infant-parent attachment: Definition, types, antecedents, measurement and

outcome. Paediatr Child Health, 9, 541-545.

Bretherton, I. (2010). Parental incarceration: The challenges for attachment

researchers. Attachment & Human Development, 12, 417- 428.

Elmalak, S. (2015). Babies behind bars: An evaluation of prison nurseries in American female

prisons and their potential constitutional challenges. Pace Law Review, 35(3), 1080-1106.

Richardson, A. (Director). (2011). Babies behind bars. Documentary retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nErmW89hr0&t=25sand https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWaZ34Vmaf4