Category: Mother

If I have the power to turn back time the one thing that I would like to change was to stop my mother from giving birth to me. I know that giving birth to me was the start of her misfortune in life and because of me my siblings also had to come to this world to bear the same thing. My grandmother used to say that my mother was a smart lady. She even went to an international school. After she had graduated from school, while waiting for her university application, she went to work as a part-time waitress at a restaurant. I could not remember the name of the restaurant that my grandmother had told me about, but I remember that she said it was a restaurant that served Western food in Georgetown, Penang. According to her, that restaurant does not exist anymore.

My mother met my father while she was working at a restaurant. He also works there as a chef assistant. My mother was 17 years old at that time while my father was in his mid-20s. My grandmother did not know the details of how their love bloomed but as a result of their relationship, my mother got pregnant out of wedlock. My mother got pregnant with me at the age of 17 years old. While she was underage. Her dream of going to university was shattered.

My grandmother used to say that my mother used to be the pride of the family since she excelled so well in school more than her older brother and older sister at that time had ever done, but she was also the one who tarnished the family name so well than anyone in the family ever did. Hearing that I can almost imagine the pain that my mother went through from the people surrounding her have made her go through during her most vulnerable time. I did not like that. I don’t want her to face that kind of pain.

My mother was forbidden from aborting me so upon that, she and my father were forced to get married even though they had known each other in such a short time. My mother was forced to do that to avoid the family being humiliated. I refused to let my mother give birth without a husband on her side. My mother had said, her wedding was her saddest day. Her father refused to be there because he was embarrassed while her mother had to pawn most of her gold to make sure the wedding went through well. My father’s family refused to be there at the wedding. The pain on her face when she told me that made me think that a wonderful woman like her did not deserve to go through all of the pain just because of a small mistake that could have been taken care of if only my grandmother and grandfather had given her a choice.

My mother gave birth to me when she was 18 years old. I couldn’t take my father’s name as my last name because of my mother’s pregnancy status. My grandmother had said that it was embarrassing when the villagers used to ask why my mother gave birth so early when it was not long after she got married. If my grandmother had felt that embarrassed, what was inside my mother’s teenage brain at that time?

After giving birth to me was the start of her misfortune in life. She was stuck with a man who was supposed to be her temporary love that she only knew in such a short time. My mother said after I turned one year old, my grandmother did not let her and my father stay in the family house anymore. So they have to rent an old small house at Teluk Kumbar, Penang that costs RM 300 per month. I can remember the house vaguely since my mother stayed there until I was four years old. The house was made up of half bricks and half wood. There was a big mango tree in front of the house. The mango there was extremely sweet. My mother always plucks the mangoes to distribute them among my relatives even though most of them treat her like rubbish. According to my mother, it was very hard for her at that time. She had to deal with working shift hours since she works as a factory operator while my father works only as a fisherman. Their pay was not enough to cover the three of our needs and she had to send me to a babysitter too. My mother sometimes had to starve herself to make sure all of my needs were enough.

My mother’s misfortune continued when she found out that my father was a drug addict after she gave birth to my younger brother, Faiz who is their second child. He started asking for money from my mother. If my mother did not give it to him, he would start beating her. He becomes abusive. I remember vaguely when I was three or four years old seeing my father punching and kicking my mother. I remember seeing how my father took money from my mother’s small wallet while she was sleeping. When she wakes up I can see her disappointed face when she checks her wallet. I was too young at that time to understand anything but I remember when the three of us had to eat instant noodles on that day.

Faiz had to grow up earlier than he was supposed to. After the birth of our younger sister, Nadia who is my parents’ third child, he was given the task to take care of her while I was sent to stay with my grandmother right after my mother found out she was pregnant. My grandmother offered since she saw there were lots of things that my mother needed to take care of. Due to my father’s addiction, taking care of a baby was hard since he had to go out to find his supplies. My mother has to work while my father stops going to the sea. According to my mother, Faiz who was two years old at that time was given the responsibility to take care of my sister while my father went out. I remember once I came to visit and saw his small hand restlessly swinging the baby cradle to make sure that Nadia wouldn’t wake up from her sleep. My grandmother was so angry at that time because my father left a baby in the hand of a two-year-old alone in a house with no supervision but things kept going as usual. Faiz lost his childhood bearing responsibilities that weren’t even his.

As a child, I saw Faiz had been craving lots of things but they never voice it out. He knows how money was tight for us. He knows that our father always beat our mother because of money so he never asks. I remember seeing his face looking longingly at the toys that were hanging at supermarkets. I remember during Eid Mubarak while other kids had been new clothes, he had to wear Baju Melayu which was made up of old Baju Kurung my mother spent the little time that she had to sew it for him. But he wears it with pride but deep down I know how he was comparing his clothes with the other. He even voiced it out to me once on how cool the other boys Baju Melayu. It hurt me so much to remember that a child had to go through this especially if that child was precious to me.

My mother once told me that she did not realize that she was pregnant with our last sister until her tummy started showing. She went through the pregnancy. On the day she was giving birth, it was raining. My parents couldn’t call the ambulance because it was expensive. My father couldn’t ride his motorcycle because it was broken so he hurriedly found an umbrella and started walking to one of my mother’s uncles in the hope that they could drive my mother to the hospital. What broke my heart was when my mother told me that her uncle refused to drive my mother to the hospital because he was afraid that my mother would dirty his car. My father had to beg for help from the cars passing by. Luckily, there are still humans who are kind even though they are not related by blood.

After the birth youngest, Tasha, my grandmother asked my mother to move to the house next to her. The house belongs to my grandmother so my mother can stay there for free. We grew up there. Everything was lacking especially after my father got arrested by the police. There was nobody to babysit my siblings and my grandmother refused to do so since she only agreed to take care of me. All of my siblings had to fend for themselves when my mother went to work. I remember once they were waiting for my mother to come back from work when the sun was setting down. When they saw the vivid image of my mother walking back from work, they would run toward her complaining about how hungry they were and how their grandmother had cooked some nice food but did not give it to them. My mother’s face would always contort in pain and she would cook instant noodles for their dinner.

The situation gets worse when all of us start going to school. The fees, books, uniforms, etc were too expensive. The cost for books per person was RM200 and three of the four of us were starting school already. My mother’s pay per month was only RM900 at that time so it was not affordable for her. Some of us get punished because we couldn’t buy books yet. Our uniforms were a hand down from the people around us. My mother said it was hurting her pride as a mother for not being able to provide for our education since she wants all of her children to succeed.

When I was 10 years old my father came back. His time in lock-up was up. My mother’s misery adds up again. We have to watch our mother get abused once more and this time our youngest had to see it too. He forced my mother to go and steal with him so that he could gain money to buy drugs and he promised that he would give us some money for our food in return. As a result, my mother and he got into a big accident running away from the police. Luckily the police let them go. The accident only left him with a broken arm while my mother couldn’t walk normally anymore. She couldn’t stand for far too long and walk too fast. She had to stop working as a factory worker while my father ran away to avoid bearing the responsibilities of all the mistakes that he had committed.

My mother started selling traditional Malay sweets and thank god her business did well. Things started to get better for us. Even if we were starting to get financially stable at that time my mother’s misery did not end there because my father came back four years later. The abuse continues mentally because he is afraid of Faiz who now has three martial arts skills in his hand.

As the three of us minus my youngest sister started getting in our teenage years, we started rebelling. We start to gain back the fun that we lost due to the struggle of life during our childhood. My brother, Faiz started fighting. Got arrested twice, once due to drug possession and once for beating people that almost caused serious harm. He got expelled from school and also failed his Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM).

Nadia refuses to go to school so that she can have fun with her friends. In return, she got expelled from school and left with no education. Now she can’t even find a proper job at the age of 18 years old because no employer wants to hire a no-education employee.

I got expelled from school twice. Once for making trouble too much at school that the teacher got sick of my antics so I was expelled. On the second time, I was expelled because I wanted to have fun with my friends like hanging out, smoking, and many more so I stopped going to school. My mother was so shocked when she got the letter that stated I was expelled for the second time that she cried so much. She called the three of us and started asking what she did wrong in her life and all of us had turned out like that. Faiz and Nadia start blaming her for the childhood that they lost while I remain quiet and start questioning myself. If only my mother didn’t continue her pregnancy when she was having me, all of this wouldn’t happen. To soothe her pain I went back to school, finished it, and started applying for university so that I could get away from the mess called family. Imagine how relieved I was when my application got accepted.

Faiz now had turned into an angry man. He starts blaming things from the past that had happened that he turned out like he is now. My mother always cries when that happens. Nadia had gotten better when it came to her attitude but she was struggling to find ways in her life since she has no educational background. Tasya starts working after school so that she can get her daily needs because she knows that my mother is dealing a lot right now with the presence of my father. My mother is still struggling with lots of things. My father who always begged for money from her or stole from her, my father who always mentally abused her, Faiz who blamed her for everything, the pain of watching her children struggling in life, the pain of relatives insulting her because she was poor and the pain of being rejected by her own family due to her past mistakes. I did not blame my siblings for rebelling. It was not their fault. They were just angry with the things that have gone through all their lives so they were trying to make up for everything but ended up straying due to the lack of positive teaching in their lives. All their life they have watched my mother getting abused and they also face the same things at some points. They were just trying to cope with everything. But they should not blame my mother for everything just like how they lost their childhood, my mother also lost her teenage years. She was forced to be mature when she was supposed to be living her life and building a successful career. I can see the regrets in her eyes every time she sees her old friends who are now successful in their lives. It was not my mother’s fault. It was mine for gracing this earth/

If I have the power to turn back time and be there at a certain time, I want to be at the time when my mother found that she was carrying me. I know it is wrong for me to think like this because I am rejecting the power of my creator but I can’t help it. Every human always thinks like that. They always wonder what would happen if some things in the past did not happen would it change the future for the better?

If I got the chance to be there in the past, I want to tell my mother that it was okay to get rid of me. I want her to stop listening to her family’s perception of how it is forbidden to abort a baby because it was not them who was carrying it at that time it was my mother. I would rather not be born in this world if I knew that my birth was the beginning of other people’s suffering. My mother did not get married to my father out of love. She got married to him because she was carrying me at that time. I want to be there in the past to persuade her to get rid of me and pursue her education at university so that she can have a better life. And I will tell her that I would always love her even if I wasn’t born in this world so just do what is best for her.

I also want to scold my grandmother for caring about social perception. Stop forcing her teen daughter to get married at such a young age. Stop caring about pride because she is sacrificing her daughter’s future in the name of dignity. I want to scream in her face that her daughter is a human who has a choice and should be able to use her rights freely. She is just a human who makes mistakes all the time and should be able to have the chance to fix it all.

I will also slap my father. How dare he take advantage of an underage girl. My mother was underage while he was already in his mid-20s. It is wrong for an adult to be sexually attracted and get involved with a young teen. If I do that maybe that will knock some sense into him so that he will be on my mother’s side and agree to abort me.

If I manage to do all that, I am sure that my mother will have a better future. She can avoid getting into an abusive marriage. She can pursue her higher education and get a better life where she has a successful career. She will live a life where she doesn’t have to drown in her tears while nursing her bruises and pain while thinking about what can she feed her babies tomorrow. She will find a good man who deserves a powerful woman like her. A man who will cherish and shower her with love instead of pain. She can continue being the pride of the family. Her relatives won’t insult her, instead, they will shower her with praise.

If my mother hadn’t kept me, my siblings wouldn’t have been born in this world. They wouldn’t have to know how cruel life is. Faiz, Nadia, and Tasya wouldn’t have to lose their childhood. Instead, the four of us will have fun watching our supposed mother living her life fully. We wouldn’t have to suffer. All of us including our mother can avoid suffering.

It is not within my intention to question God’s power because I believe that everything that happens, happens for a reason. But still, I can’t help hoping for a better life. If my mother didn’t give birth to me, all of this misfortune can be avoided. Forgive me, God, because I have sinned for questioning the things that you have prepared for me in my writings. My life now is so hard. My mother is drowning in tears every day, my siblings are straying from the right path and my father is like a living corpse. So as a human when bad things happen I always hope for the better.

The denigration and stereotyping of single mothers, has endured a long history in Australia and throughout the world. Over the past 100 years, the societal and political response to unwed mothers and single motherhood has seen many changes.

This essay will discuss the evolution of policies and financial support concerning unemployed single mothers with a focus on the present-day policies of ‘Welfare to Work’ and ‘ParentsNext’ policies. The essay will also discuss the shifts in societal and political discourses surrounding single mothers, which influenced historical policymaking such as; female activism; and the shift from an immoral standpoint to an economic standpoint. And the political shift from a protective state to an enabling state (Mendes, 2003).

Since 1941, many significant social and economic changes have occurred. These changes have influenced the nature and the level of financial assistance for families. At the start of the century, there was no government financial assistance like social security. Charities and families had to help their own or the needy.

After World War II, the Commonwealth introduced the Universal child endowment in 1941 and the widow’s pension in 1942. Those who were eligible included; deserted wives, divorced women, and women whose husbands were in prison or a mental hospital. (Abs.gov.au, 2019).

Before 1975, Swain & Howe (1995), argued that single mothers were stigmatized and labeled by society. Unwed mothers were regarded as women with loose morals and were shunned by societies and their families. Unwed single mothers who had family support were kept quiet about their predicament. In some cases, children were raised by their grandparents and were told their mother was their sibling.

From the 1950s up until the 1970s, babies of unwed mothers were labeled ‘illegitimate’ and women were seen as incapable of caring for their child. Due to societal and political worldviews, no financial support from the government, and no childcare. It was nearly impossible to survive and care for your child without family support.

Most families kicked girls out if they couldn’t get their father to marry her. This was due to the fear and shame they may face from a judging society and community. Society’s way of fixing this and other pressing issues, such as; unwed single motherhood, illegitimate children, and infertility. Was to forcibly remove over 20,000 babies from young single mothers, and put them up for adoption, traumatizing these women for life. (Carson and Kerr, 2017, p.196).

The government may not have directly been involved, but their moral views and the failure to assist these women enforced marriage or adoption, either by free will or by forcing consent.

In the late 1960s and 1970s, single mothers were starting to change. They were now more middle class and better educated with a newfound knowledge of their rights and choices. Women were fed up with the lack of government and societal support and demanded change. Women’s groups were able to influence legislation and family policy through protest, public awareness, and lobbying the state to provide income support and in turn be able to achieve independence. (Swain and Howe, 1995)

Feminist activism helped shape policy and was the driving force behind policy change with the development of childcare, which helped women enter the workforce when their children were younger than school age. (Swain and Howe, 1995)

Through the 1970’s the Whitlam government took notice and made radical changes to legislation and social policies. These included; the introduction of the supporting mother’s benefit in 1973, which now extended support to unwed mothers who were not eligible to get the widower’s pension. This allowed women to be able to look after their children at home without having to work. Childcare access was brought in to help women who were either married or single, to find work when their children were under school age.

Extensive changes to the family law including the ‘no-faults’ divorce allowed women to be able to leave bad marriages, knowing they have financial support and laws to protect them (Hodgson, 2014).

Fast forward to 2006, the Howard government announced the Welfare to Work program. From July 1st, 2006, any new applications for the parenting payment were moved from this payment to the less generous Newstart Allowance when their youngest child turned eight.

This meant a significant cut in payments for single mothers. Parenting payment at the time was $331.85 per week and Newstart was $266.50. This impacted single mothers significantly, with some having to move due to rent affordability. (Carson & Kerr, 2017. Pp. 174-176.)

Under this program, sole parents were required to look for at least 30 hours of paid work per fortnight and attend meetings and required activities. A part of these mandatory activities is working for the dole program, this can be replaced by part-time employment or part-time study/training to fulfill your job plan.

Single parents claiming Parenting Payment before the first of July 2006, were exempted from this requirement until their child turned 16. In 2013, the Gillard government extended this to all single parents. The government’s consistent claim has been that these reforms would improve the ‘wellbeing’ of those involved (Mendes, 2009).

Debates at the time were over whether benefits have encouraged sole motherhood. According to Swan and Bernstam (1987), the increase in people applying for the sole parent pension may have been due to the availability of welfare payments for sole parents.

More punitive measures occurred for unemployed single mothers when the Gillard government introduced the ParentsNext program for trial in 2012. This was designed for single parents with preschool-age children, to assist them in planning and preparing for employment by the time their children go to school.

From July 2018, under the Turnball Government, it was extended and made compulsory for 70,000 parents (ACOSS, 2019).

Participation in this program is mandatory. Participants are required to meet with their ParentsNext provider regularly and agree to carry out planned activities. Failure to attend a meeting with your ParentsNext provider or failure to undertake the compulsory activities results in payment suspension.

Included in these activities are mandatory swimming lessons, playgroup sessions, and activities such as “story time” at their local library. Evidence is needed or else payments will be suspended (ACOSS, 2019).

The ideological paradigm behind these punitive paternalistic welfare reforms is a form of neoliberalism (De Goede, 1996), with the emphasis being strictly on economic participation. While individuals are expected to be good parents and support their children, under neoliberalism their primary responsibility is to the economy.

This neoliberalism and risk management type of approach to welfare dependency was supported by both parties and is a form of social control over vulnerable people, which shifted responsibility from the state to the individual. (Carson and Kerr, 2017)

The monitoring and mandatory requirements of the ParentsNext policy show that the judgment, prejudice, and stereotyping of single mothers as economically irresponsible and morally irresponsible still remain in the collective consciousness of our politicians and society.

The view that single mothers are incapable of providing appropriate activities for their children or reading to them, sends a message to society saying that single parents are somehow deficient in childrearing and need the government and policymakers instructing and enforcing their idea of what they think single parents are not providing, enforcing policy-makers ideas of what is the right way to bring up children.

Family discourses powerfully influence the lives of men and women in Western societies. These discourses see good parenthood as heterosexual, coupled parenthood with single parenthood signifying problematic or deficit (Mannis, 1999). The idea is that older married heterosexual parenthood is ideal parenthood and the standard against which all other forms of parenthood are judged. Family discourses are major contributors to the construction of single parenthood as a social problem. (Van Acker, 2005).

Other issues with these types of programs are the increased use of privatization and outsourcing of contractors by the government to deal with the unemployed. This moves the responsibility away from the state and onto the individual. This results in service providers competing for government funding and can create a financial incentive for some contractors to exploit the vulnerable. Pressure is put on staff to keep clients in the program in order to achieve more budget cuts to get more funding. (‘Final Report | Treasury.gov.au’, 2019)

The debates about which forms of income support are fair, are typically emotive and reflect societal values and narratives of the day. The conversation around the deserving poor and the undeserving poor stigmatizes and groups everybody who is dependent on the government. The stereotyping, assumptions, and name-calling, impact single mothers greatly. They are torn between mutual obligations, job seeking, working, and parental obligations. (Carson & Kerr, 2017. p. 196.)

The government doesn’t seem to understand the struggles of single parents. The false assumptions that parenting is fluid and can be manipulated to meet the requirements of the programs, are ignorant and stressful for the single mother. Unpaid full-time care doesn’t seem to be valued in Australia. The present government would rather help out middle-class married mothers through childcare rebates and tax cuts. Whilst single mothers may, in the future. get the pleasures of a drug test and a basic card, which further stigmatizes and disadvantages women and children amongst others.

The impacts of single mothers being pushed into work when they have young children force them to only be able to find low-paying, flexible casual jobs to fit around the care of their child/children. In a lot of cases, to lack of education or lack of experience in the workforce, can lead to a lifetime of low-paying jobs and reduced superannuation. They generally cannot afford to buy a house in their lifetime and will need to rely on benefits when they get older. Thus, further entrenching generational disadvantage and poverty. (Carson & Kerr, 2017. pp. 74-81)

A Senate inquiry report found the ParentsNext program, was causing “anxiety, stress and harm” for parents across the country. The Australian Government is now facing pressure to overhaul the program, with the Senate inquiry stating it was significantly flawed (ACOSS, 2019).

Recommendations from the Senate Inquiry included discussions around improving the program. Such as collaborating with experts, parents, and providers to redesign the program to fit a more supportive, client-centered approach. The Senate inquiry also recommended that sanctions should be used against ParentsNext providers who breach government guidelines. And that providers should be trained in cultural competency, domestic abuse, and disability (ParentsNext. 2019).

The Minister for Jobs, Kelly O’Dwyer, defended the program, claiming that the program had good intentions and would help put an end to intergenerational poverty and welfare dependency by providing a path to employment. Having said that, O’Dwyer also stated that the government will consider the recommendations of the senate inquiry and look further into claims of job provider breaches (Parliament of Australia, 2019).

Throughout Australian history, single mothers have been portrayed as young, unwed, morally and economically irresponsible, and dependent on welfare. In recent times, public views have changed, and single mothers aren’t stigmatized as much as in the past, especially because of their marital status and moral stance.

The new economically irresponsible, labeling seen in the political arena and in the media today, isn’t as blatant as in the 1960’s but can be just as detrimental. Today, the words bludger, dependent, irresponsible, and lazy, signify that single mothers who need assistance, are somehow not capable of making the right decisions for their children compared to married mothers, and need extra special mandatory guidance and monitoring to ensure the health of the economy and future generations.

In 1987, Prime Minister Bob Hawke spoke one of his most memorable quotes; ‘By 1990, no Australian child will be living in poverty’ (‘Transcript 7924 | PM Transcripts’, 1990). Decades on this is far from the truth, according to (ACOSS, 2016), The risk of poverty for children in sole-parent families are three times more likely to live in poverty than children who live in couple families. 731,000 children were living in poverty in Australia in 2016. 40% were from single-parent families (ACOSS 2016).

The transfer of 80,000 sole parents to Newstart Allowance in 2013, according to the Australian Council of Social Security (2018), was associated with this increase in the rate of poverty among unemployed sole parents. Poverty rose from 35% in 2013 to 59% just two years later.

The government needs to put single parents back on the agenda, raise the Newstart allowance, or allow single parents to stay on parenting payment until their child turns sixteen. Children are living in poverty and the government is too busy worrying about the economy, which will be impacted by the rise of poverty and the widening of the gap between the wealthy and the poor. Intergenerational poverty and later-age dependency are imminent if the situation isn’t dealt with.

Seizures, fever, diarrhea, irritability, muscle spasms, feeding difficulties, vomiting, sleeping problems, and rapid breathing. All this is what an infant that suffers from neonatal abstinence syndrome experiences as soon as they’re out of the womb. Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) is the withdrawal of drugs in babies, and it is caused due to the addiction that the mother suffers from while carrying her child. According to the National Institute of Health blog team, the number of babies born with NAS has increased in recent decades because opioid misuse has increased. Between 1999 and 2013, the number of NAS cases tripled; in 2013, it affected six out of every 1,000 newborns.

Although I absolutely do not support pregnant women who use drugs, I believe that punishing them for it or treating them as criminals is not right, it only makes the situation worse. According to NAPW (National Advocates for Pregnant Women), forcing a pregnant woman into prison can in some cases cause her to lose the pregnancy and many other harmful effects. One of the main reasons for causing NAS is that addicted moms who want to treat their addiction may be too afraid to get into recovery for fear of being arrested, which only makes the pregnancy worse. In my opinion, this shouldn’t be treated as a crime, it should be treated as a health issue, and the best way to ensure better outcomes for both moms and babies is to treat, not punish. We should help moms and their babies and provide treatment and support.

Countries should start running drug tests for pregnant women to ensure that pregnant women and the fetus are healthy, and if the pregnant woman does suffer from drug abuse, then she should be treated and medicated. For example, pregnant women who are addicted to heroin or opioids should take medications such as methadone to avoid withdrawal symptoms. Methadone has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration as an opiate replacement. According to sunrisehouse.com, pregnant women who take methadone must do so through a structured medication assistance program, administered by a specialized clinic or rehab center. Pregnant women can also use buprenorphine (also approved), which offers more flexibility because it’s easier to obtain and it can be provided by a physician or a certified healthcare facility. To ensure that pregnant women are healthy after recovery, things such as counseling sessions with a therapist and medication management are very good ways to avoid relapses, which often happen after the baby is born. So, women should be medicated and taken care of instead of being punished, and as we can see, there are multiple ways to treat pregnant women effectively.

In the caregiver-child dynamic, the caregiver is expected to provide a place to live, financial security, emotional support, and general caregiving, but the roles are often reversed in the substance abuse caregiver-child dynamics. In this dynamic, the child has to be responsible for their parents, and most of these children aren’t aware of it. Children are asked to take on a level of maturity they most likely aren’t ready for. According to the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, the emotional and mental stress of having to care for themselves and intoxicated parents can harm a child’s brain development. The relationship between an addicted parent and a child can have serious effects on the child’s development and life. If a child’s addicted parent is absent most of the time, the child is going to have to take care of himself, which might lead to exposure to crime or drugs. Unfortunately, many children with addicted parents think that it’s their fault. If a mom who is still suffering from an addiction can have really negative and harmful effects on the child’s life and this can harm the child mentally, so if the addicted mom is recovering, we have to make sure that she is fully recovered and capable of taking care of her child and having a healthy and positive mother-child relationship and provide everything her child needs.

Babies don’t deserve to feel debilitation at birth for something that they aren’t responsible for. They don’t deserve to suffer from drug withdrawal as soon as they are born. They don’t deserve a mother who suffers from drug addiction. These poor babies and mothers don’t deserve any of it. We need to help pregnant women with drug addiction. We need to treat them and not criminalize them. We need to help these babies the right way.

Underage Moms or Good Moms

Based on research, there has been a mixture of perspectives on whether or not there is a huge difference between children born from teenage mothers to children born from mature mothers (ages 21 and above). According to statistics, written by Cost and Henshaw’s article entitled Facts about Teenage Pregnancy, 3 in 10 teen American girls will get pregnant at least once before age 20. That’s nearly 750,000 teen pregnancies every year. Less than 2% of teen moms earn a college degree by age 30. The United States has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the Western industrialized world. The average age that women are having their first child is currently around 28 years of age, up from 26.4 in 2015, and 26.3 in 2014.

Moreover, experts often focus on average or mean maternal age due to the birth outcomes that are associated with the age of the mother, such as multiple births and congenital disabilities. Therefore, before diving into the comparison between children’s capabilities based on the age group of their mothers, the focus will first begin with the research of mothers and their capabilities of bearing children.

Additionally, per Stickler’s article entitled “Maintaining a Healthy Pregnancy,” a woman’s health is essential to the good health of her baby. Women who eat well and exercise regularly along with regular prenatal care are less likely to have complications during pregnancy. They’re also more likely to successfully give birth to a healthy baby. Eating a nutritious diet during pregnancy is linked to fetal brain development, and a healthy birth weight, and it reduces the risk of many birth defects. A balanced diet will also reduce the risks of anemia, as well as other unpleasant pregnancy symptoms such as fatigue and morning sickness. Good nutrition is thought to help balance mood swings and it may improve labor and delivery as well (2014).

These are all the practices proven to promote a healthy pregnancy. Despite age groups, studies show that mothers are more than capable of delivering a healthy baby just by keeping a healthy lifestyle during their pregnancy and or before. There haven’t been sufficient studies that prove what a mother should do to guarantee a perfect delivery or a hundred percent healthy baby, however, later on in this research there is a slight difference due to age factors with mothers.

On the other hand, all pregnancies are prone to complications despite the mother’s age and health, or economic situation. For the baby, the most common problem is low birth weight. A baby who is born weighing less than five and a half pounds is considered low birth weight. Per the Department of Health, studies and surveys show, that low birth weight is the number one risk factor for death in the first year of life and for life-long health problems. It can be caused by being born too early, by growing too slowly, or for some children, both. A woman’s diet in early life has more impact on her baby’s birth weight than the food she eats as an adult, researchers say (2017).

Moreover, the surprise findings by Prof Christopher Kuzawa at Northwestern University in Illinois suggest that you are what your mother ate and that a woman’s diet in her adult life has less influence on her baby’s health than previously thought. Sample’s article stated that within the bounds of a healthy balanced diet, the overall quantity of food that a mother eats is unlikely to have large effects on her baby’s birth weight. The findings emerged from a 30-year study that followed more than 3,000 pregnant women in the Philippines whose children have now begun to have babies of their own. Kuzawa said that while there was good evidence that unborn children benefit from their mothers taking extra folate and that they are harmed by toxins such as lead, mercury, excessive alcohol, and biphenyl A, which is used to make some plastics, the picture was less clear on the roles of calories, protein, fat and carbohydrates (2014).

The study suggested that a mother’s diet as an adult did not affect her baby’s birth weight. Far more important were the mother’s health and nutrition as a baby and toddler, and even the grandmother’s diet when she was pregnant with the baby’s mother. A person’s health at birth is governed by a long history of health and nutrition going back more than a generation (Sample). ‘Our findings add to growing evidence that the key to optimizing the health of future generations is to promote good nutrition and health of infants and young children who will be the next generation of mothers,’ quotes Kuzawa.

Finally, low birth weight is associated with a raft of health problems, including raised blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and increased insulin resistance, an early sign of diabetes. People who are born light also face a greater risk of heart disease. This scientifically proves that birth weight complications are most likely from a mother’s generational ancestry rather than eating habits during pregnancy. Henceforth, both mature moms and teenage moms are either at risk of having children with low birth weight or not.

Children Born from Teen Moms

There were nearly 250,000 babies born in 2014 to teen moms, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. About 77 percent of these pregnancies were unplanned. A teenage pregnancy can change the course of a young mom’s life. It puts her in a place where she’s responsible not only for herself but also for another human being. Carrying a baby and becoming a mom not only creates physical changes (Nall, 2016).

Women also go through mental changes. Young moms face added stress from:

• sleepless nights
• arranging childcare
• making doctor’s appointments
• attempting to finish high school

While not all teenage mothers are affected greatly by mental and physical changes, many are. A research study published in the journal Pediatrics studied more than 6,000 Canadian women, ranging in age from adolescents to adults. The researchers found that girls ranging from 15 to 19 experienced postpartum depression at a rate that was twice as high as women aged 25 and older. Another study reported that teen mothers face significant levels of stress that can then lead to increased mental health concerns.

In addition to higher rates of postpartum depression, teenage mothers have higher rates of depression. Teenage mothers are more prone to suicidal thoughts than peers who aren’t mothers. Teenage girls who are pregnant, especially if they don’t have support from their parents, are at risk of not getting adequate prenatal care. Prenatal care is critical, especially in the first months of pregnancy. Prenatal care screens for medical problems in both mother and baby monitors the baby’s growth and deals quickly with any complications that arise. Prenatal vitamins with folic acid, ideally taken before getting pregnant, are essential in helping to prevent certain birth defects, such as neural tube defects.

On the other hand, an article titled “Girlhood, not Motherhood: Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy” noted that adolescent pregnancies are a global problem that occurs in high, middle, and low-income countries. Around the world, adolescent pregnancies are more likely to occur in marginalized communities, commonly driven by poverty and lack of education and employment opportunities. Adolescent pregnancy remains a major contributor to maternal and child mortality and intergenerational cycles of ill-health and poverty. Pregnancy and childbirth complications are the leading cause of death among 15 to 19-year-old girls globally, with low and middle-income countries accounting for 99% of global maternal deaths of women ages 15 to 49 years.

Adolescent mothers (ages 10 to 19 years) face higher risks of eclampsia, puerperal endometritis, and systemic infections than women aged 20 to 24 years. Additionally, some 3.9 million unsafe abortions among girls aged 15 to 19 years occur each year, contributing to maternal mortality and lasting health problems. Furthermore, the emotional, psychological, and social needs of pregnant adolescent girls can be greater than those of other women.

Most of the challenges teenage mom face depend on their support system. Teen childbearing with low or a lack of support system can affect the pregnancy stage. This, in turn, will affect the development of the child. Unlike mature moms (ages 25 and above), teen mothers are not prepared for pregnancy as well as providing for a child at such a young age.

Mature Mothers (Ages 25+)

As mentioned before, few studies show ages above 25 would be an appropriate age for women to bear children. Per some scientific research, most doctors believe that women at this age are fully developed and well-prepared for the challenges of being a mom.

The message that ages 20 to 35 are the best for a woman to have a child should be taught in schools alongside education about teenage pregnancies and contraception, the leader of the UK’s maternity doctors has said (Campbell).

Dr. Tony Falconer, the president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (RCOG) warned against the pronounced trend towards older motherhood and said women and couples have to become ‘better at resolving the conflict’ between their careers and family plans. In an interview Dr. Falconer had with The Guardian Post he stated,

‘It’s never our responsibility [as doctors] to tell people when they should have their family, because there are all sorts of societal pressures. There’s no doubt that between 20 and 35 is the time to have your children. We are building up a difficulty for ourselves as a society by people’s expectations that they will wait until they are older. That’s a very complex issue, but it is a problem” (2010).

Furthermore, Campbell mentions in his studies of The Best Age to Become a Mother, the risks of having children later in life are well documented:

There’s a higher chance the baby will have issues at birth, like Down’s syndrome, or be more likely to develop autism and Alzheimer’s later in life. It’s also simply harder to get pregnant as time marches on. But a study of more than 1.5 million Swedes shows there are some pretty big benefits as well. Kids born to older mothers are taller, less likely to quit school, more likely to attend university, and tend to perform better on standardized tests than siblings who were born before them. More fodder for the frenzied debate about birth order (2010).

There was a theory or speculation that was provided by some research to consider a woman born in 1960 who had one baby when she was 20 and another when she was 40. A lot of things happened in those intervening 20 years, including dramatic improvements in medicine, mortality, and education: the kid born in 2000 is much more likely to go to college than the sibling born in 1980. Women around the world are postponing having kids to later for reasons ranging from better access to birth control, improved professional opportunities, and rising economic uncertainty (2010).

Moreover, the mentioned studies proved that people nowadays are more health-conscious and well-aware of the capabilities of being pregnant. Compared to previous years where teenage pregnancies have been more of a taboo subject or difficult conversation between parents and their children, I believe times have impacted a change in that practice. Teenagers are more exposed to conversations around the consequences and challenges of being a teen mom. There are more support systems that teenagers can rely on when their socioeconomic situations are not deemed appropriate for raising a child.

Smoking or drinking alcohol by the mother is one of the main causes of poor growth because it cuts down on the baby’s supply of oxygen and food. Poor nutrition, birth defects, genetic conditions, mother’s health problems such as high blood pressure, hazards in the environment including lead or tobacco smoke, and multiple births (twins, triplets, etc.) may also cause low birth weight. In many cases, the exact cause of low birth weight is not known.

But Falconer said there is strong evidence that women who leave starting a family until they are 35 will have reduced fertility and so find it harder to conceive, even more so once they hit 40. Older women are also more likely to face medical complications. They include a greater risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, multiple pregnancies, cancer, needing a cesarean or assisted delivery, fetal anomalies such as Down’s syndrome, and even a heart attack in pregnancy, albeit that is a rare event, he said.

‘Reproductively, tragedies can result as a direct result of later motherhood,’ said Falconer, citing the case of a 40-year-old woman who, carrying her first child, experiences a stillbirth. (The stillbirth rate is one in 200 across all ages, but higher for older women). While younger would-be mothers can resolve to try again for another baby, the older woman may not be able to because she is less fertile – ‘an awful, appalling situation that most of us have come across at some stage in our career,’ Falconer said (2010).

Dr. Falconer as mentioned in Campbell’s research, cited a graph in a medical textbook that showed the chances of a woman losing a baby to miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, or stillbirth relative to her age when she conceived. It is about a 30% risk for a 40-year-old and 45% for a 45-year-old. ‘The incidence of tragic outcome and sadness will be more common the older the mother is,’ said Falconer (2010). He said he wanted the message about 20 to 35 being the ideal years for childbearing to be much better understood.

‘When you’re educating children about contraception and teenage pregnancy, you could introduce other concepts at the same time, such as parenting and feeding babies, and you might tag on to what the best age is to have children. As a 15-year-old girl, when you’re doing your GCSE preparation, it might just sow a seed for them if you give them information at that stage that the best time to have children was 20-35” (Campbell).

Medically proven, children born from teenage mothers are at higher risk of health problems than children born to older moms; however, despite the age factor, all moms are incapable of guaranteeing a perfectly healthy pregnancy or baby, and they are all prone to risks including, socially, mentally, and economically aspects of their lives.

I would like to pay tribute to a woman who has tremendously influenced my life and taken the time to do this interview with me. I learned so much in just a few minutes. This woman is my mother, Alicia Butler. My mother is my queen. Nothing in this world compares to the love that I know my mother has for me and I have for her. Many women may be good mothers but mine is the best.

My mother is originally from Mandeville, Jamaica. She moved to Toronto, Canada around the age of eighteen in 1989. That was around the time the song “Can You Stand the Rain” by New Edition came out. She still listens to the song to this day. She loved Canada so much plus it helped her become more acclimated to living in the US. When I asked her about how all that change felt in the interview she said “It was not hard at all when your younger things tend to just, you just adapt more easily so it was not a big change.” Her journey all began as she took her first steps on Canadian soil.

Eventually, my mother moved to the United States by the age of twenty-one or twenty-two to marry my father and start a new life together. This great change in the things she had become accustomed to in her daily life was not easy. Transitions have never been an easy thing to conquer. That’s one thing my mother has no problem dealing with. It is often hard and stressful to cope with changes in one’s surroundings. When one manages to defeat this obstacle, the elevation of knowledge and experience are amazing results gained from this achievement. My mother can knock any move out of the park and make it seem as if she’s been there all her life.

In my mother’s life, she has been exposed to a lot of change. Change can occur in many different ways and is dealt with in many different ways. She has come to the realization that she was meant to do more in life as to why she came to the US. My mother is such a strong beautiful hard-working woman. I’m truly blessed to have a woman like her to look up to. My mother is my inspiration. She continues to blow my mind every day that goes by.

My mother had my siblings and me at completely different times in her life. She had my eldest brother right before she left Jamaica which was a very difficult time. Years later after being in the US with my father for some time she then had me. I was born in the Bronx, New York at Our Lady of Mercy Hospital. My youngest brother was then born in San Jose, California a year later.

Ensuring my brothers and I are safe and secure has always been my mother’s primary goal no matter how old we get. Unconditional love is the type of love that a mother really knows and feels. It’s hard to describe the feeling that a mother has towards her children. My mother always says that most women won’t understand that feeling until they become a mother themselves. A mother will put her children before pretty much anyone and anything else, including her own happiness.

My mother gives a ton of support to my brothers and me, whether it involves visible support or simple encouragement from the background. Especially if we’re in school, she encourages school 100%. Not only does my mother support me, but she also holds the family together. A mother’s job is not always easy. Mothers must make continuous sacrifices. Mothers can also have their hearts broken. Great thing mothers usually understand and love their children despite what they go through.

A lot of people celebrate their mothers on a special day every year. This day is called Mother’s Day. This is a day for children of all ages to show nothing but love towards their mothers. Most cards as well as a few gifts here and there are often handmade with nothing but love. Mother’s Day is always a successful day when an amazing mother gets the flowers she deserves.

No one in the world truly wishes the best for us except for our parents and our mothers which connects us through the heart. She teaches us morals and values which help us in this journey we call life. Motherhood is the best part of life a woman can experience. It is a full-time job without a salary but it’s worth it for the love of their children. A mother’s love is everything.

My mother is the strongest person I know. She has been through so much, yet she was able to raise and educate my brothers and me as well as she did. She had the courage to get away from an abusive marriage. She left without a job, a place to live, a car, or money really. She never gave up on us or herself. Working hard and making sure that none of her children were missing anything necessary was her number one priority. The stress of being a single mother made her love for us much stronger.

When it comes to physical appearance, my mother has beautiful features. She’s able to turn heads everywhere we go. She has a slim physique. Her slim physique is well-kept just from working out at home. She still exercises to this day by taking on household chores while blasting the song “Can You Stand the Rain” and others.

One thing, in particular, I admire about my mother is the simple fact that in spite of having two boys and one girl, she was always completely fair with us. In everything, from the different portions of food to settling our arguments, she showed fairness and equality. My mother would step into numerous fights that always came in between my brothers and me. She would always take time to determine who was in the right and who wasn’t and would settle the matter leaving everyone satisfied. She was in fact a highly skilled judge.

My mother is like a security blanket. No matter how bad her day could go, she will always be there with a shoulder to cry on and a sympathetic ear for me. Even if she’s been screamed at all day, she will still be eager to hear my drama-filled gossip. Whenever something becomes too much for me, she is there to calm me down with a hug and a kiss. She is always there to company me.

We as children seem to take our mothers for granted but without her, our lives would become worthless. We may not even realize that we are doing so until it’s too late. That should never be the case. She is the one who always keeps her eyes on us. She makes sure we don’t get involved in any bad habits or troubled by anyone.

One of a mother’s greatest assets is connecting with her child. From birth, a special connection is made between the child and the mother. I will always remember the idea of when that occurred, she always says “I came out looking at her like woman please shut up and stop crying” just like in the interview haha. When I am struggling with life challenges, I often seek guidance from my mother. Sometimes I forget that before a mother is even a mom, they are human; they have needs just like everybody else.

She always seems to have the answers to my problems. No matter what the situation is she always makes me feel better. She does this all with a smile even if I so happen to forget to say thank you. This woman loves me so much that I sometimes get frustrated at her for not allowing me to make my own mistakes. As my mother, she knows what’s best for me and I can only appreciate that.

At the present time, it’s just my mother and me out here in Houston, Texas. It was such a random move but I’m glad we did it because it’s a fresh start for us both. My brothers lived with us at one point in time but they eventually left, which is okay because I get to spend more one on one time with her, especially when doing this interview not having anyone to distract us. My eldest brother is in Oklahoma while my youngest brother is in New York. I try my best to stay as close to my mother as possible. I can’t be any further than 4-5 hours away from her. I don’t understand how they do it but I’m glad I stick around because I don’t know what I’d do without her even if she nagged me for the rest of my life lol. Super glad I had the opportunity to do this interview with her.

I would like to pay tribute to a woman who has tremendously influenced my life and taken the time to do this interview with me. I learned so much in just a few minutes. This woman is my mother, Alicia Butler. My mother is my queen. Nothing in this world compares to the love that I know my mother has for me and I have for her. Many women may be good mothers but mine is the best.

My mother is originally from Mandeville, Jamaica. She moved to Toronto, Canada around the age of eighteen in 1989. That was around the time the song “Can You Stand the Rain” by New Edition came out. She still listens to the song to this day. She loved Canada so much plus it helped her become more acclimated to living in the US. When I asked her about how all that change felt in the interview she said “It was not hard at all when your younger things tend to just, you just adapt more easily so it was not a big change.” Her journey all began as she took her first steps on Canadian soil.

Eventually, my mother moved to the United States by the age of twenty-one or twenty-two to marry my father and start a new life together. This great change in the things she had become accustomed to in her daily life was not easy. Transitions have never been an easy thing to conquer. That’s one thing my mother has no problem dealing with. It is often hard and stressful to cope with changes in one’s surroundings. When one manages to defeat this obstacle, the elevation of knowledge and experience are amazing results gained from this achievement. My mother can knock any move out of the park and make it seem as if she’s been there all her life.

In my mother’s life, she has been exposed to a lot of change. Change can occur in many different ways and is dealt with in many different ways. She has come to the realization that she was meant to do more in life as to why she came to the US. My mother is such a strong beautiful hard-working woman. I’m truly blessed to have a woman like her to look up to. My mother is my inspiration. She continues to blow my mind every day that goes by.

My mother had my siblings and me at completely different times in her life. She had my eldest brother right before she left Jamaica which was a very difficult time. Years later after being in the US with my father for some time she then had me. I was born in the Bronx, New York at Our Lady of Mercy Hospital. My youngest brother was then born in San Jose, California a year later.

Ensuring my brothers and I are safe and secure has always been my mother’s primary goal no matter how old we get. Unconditional love is the type of love that a mother really knows and feels. It’s hard to describe the feeling that a mother has towards her children. My mother always says that most women won’t understand that feeling until they become a mother themselves. A mother will put her children before pretty much anyone and anything else, including her own happiness.

My mother gives a ton of support to my brothers and me, whether it involves visible support or simple encouragement from the background. Especially if we’re in school, she encourages school 100%. Not only does my mother support me, but she also holds the family together. A mother’s job is not always easy. Mothers must make continuous sacrifices. Mothers can also have their hearts broken. Great thing mothers usually understand and love their children despite what they go through.

A lot of people celebrate their mothers on a special day every year. This day is called Mother’s Day. This is a day for children of all ages to show nothing but love towards their mothers. Most cards as well as a few gifts here and there are often handmade with nothing but love. Mother’s Day is always a successful day when an amazing mother gets the flowers she deserves.

No one in the world truly wishes the best for us except for our parents and our mothers which connects us through the heart. She teaches us morals and values which help us in this journey we call life. Motherhood is the best part of life a woman can experience. It is a full-time job without a salary but it’s worth it for the love of their children. A mother’s love is everything.

My mother is the strongest person I know. She has been through so much, yet she was able to raise and educate my brothers and me as well as she did. She had the courage to get away from an abusive marriage. She left without a job, a place to live, a car, or money really. She never gave up on us or herself. Working hard and making sure that none of her children were missing anything necessary was her number one priority. The stress of being a single mother made her love for us much stronger.

When it comes to physical appearance, my mother has beautiful features. She’s able to turn heads everywhere we go. She has a slim physique. Her slim physique is well-kept just from working out at home. She still exercises to this day by taking on household chores while blasting the song “Can You Stand the Rain” and others.

One thing, in particular, I admire about my mother is the simple fact that in spite of having two boys and one girl, she was always completely fair with us. In everything, from the different portions of food to settling our arguments, she showed fairness and equality. My mother would step into numerous fights that always came in between my brothers and me. She would always take time to determine who was in the right and who wasn’t and would settle the matter leaving everyone satisfied. She was in fact a highly skilled judge.

My mother is like a security blanket. No matter how bad her day could go, she will always be there with a shoulder to cry on and a sympathetic ear for me. Even if she’s been screamed at all day, she will still be eager to hear my drama-filled gossip. Whenever something becomes too much for me, she is there to calm me down with a hug and a kiss. She is always there to company me.

We as children seem to take our mothers for granted but without her, our lives would become worthless. We may not even realize that we are doing so until it’s too late. That should never be the case. She is the one who always keeps her eyes on us. She makes sure we don’t get involved in any bad habits or troubled by anyone.

One of a mother’s greatest assets is connecting with her child. From birth, a special connection is made between the child and the mother. I will always remember the idea of when that occurred, she always says “I came out looking at her like woman please shut up and stop crying” just like in the interview haha. When I am struggling with life challenges, I often seek guidance from my mother. Sometimes I forget that before a mother is even a mom, they are human; they have needs just like everybody else.

She always seems to have the answers to my problems. No matter what the situation is she always makes me feel better. She does this all with a smile even if I so happen to forget to say thank you. This woman loves me so much that I sometimes get frustrated at her for not allowing me to make my own mistakes. As my mother, she knows what’s best for me and I can only appreciate that.

At the present time, it’s just my mother and me out here in Houston, Texas. It was such a random move but I’m glad we did it because it’s a fresh start for us both. My brothers lived with us at one point in time but they eventually left, which is okay because I get to spend more one on one time with her, especially when doing this interview not having anyone to distract us. My eldest brother is in Oklahoma while my youngest brother is in New York. I try my best to stay as close to my mother as possible. I can’t be any further than 4-5 hours away from her. I don’t understand how they do it but I’m glad I stick around because I don’t know what I’d do without her even if she nagged me for the rest of my life lol. Super glad I had the opportunity to do this interview with her.

Being a mother in prison is not easy. Mothers in prisons face challenges that many members of the public are unaware of, challenges that affect both themselves and their children’s well-being and upbringings. What challenges do these mothers face and why is this topic important to discuss?

Why Is This Topic Important?

Within the criminal justice system, women are seen as the least likely gender to be incarcerated, unlike males who hold most prison populations. However, throughout the years as women have been given more rights within societies and both genders got closer to having equal roles, the rise of female criminality is on the rise. Due to this, more facilities for females have had to be produced, but still do not meet the requirements to fulfill the needs of female prisoners, in particular mothers.

The Right to Abortion

Abortion rights came into place in 1997. Abortions were banned before the 1967 Abortion Act, which allowed them to be performed up to 28 weeks after conception. In 1990, this was lowered to 24 weeks, which gave women the decision in terminating the pregnancy as their own choice, giving them the right to decide what was right for them (Francombe, 2017). However, this right is not always as easy for women incarcerated in prisons, outlining one of the many challenges these women endure. On average, 6-10% of women in custody are pregnant at any given time, this is a significant problem, and research by renowned political scientist Rachel Roth (2010) found that correctional facilities’ abortion policies are inconsistent and lack any form of standardization (Sufrin, Creinin, and Chang, 2009). As a result, jailed women encounter a variety of obstacles in their quest for a pregnancy abortion. Due to these women having a constraint on their freedom due to incarceration, abortion requests are at the discretion of prison staff, who can deny their requests at any time. Women who seek abortions may be turned down by facilities that distinguish between ‘essential’ and ‘non-essential’ dependent on whether the pregnancy has any risks (Sufrin, Creinin, and Chang, 2009). This outlines one of the challenges mothers in prison face as legalized acts such as abortion are denied at the request and decisions are not just of the mothers but those working within the prisons. It also provides evidence that change needs to occur as the treatment of women within prisons is inadequate.

Stress, Anxiety, and Depression

According to research, jailed mothers experience higher stress than other convicts due to concerns about visitation and separation from their families. Pregnant convicts are at a higher risk of anxiety and depression. The mother’s anxiety and sadness can have a harmful impact on the infant’s development by raising the infant’s susceptibility to psychopathology. Stress within pregnancies can be harmful to the child, “Antenatal psychosocial stress is common, and elevated levels are associated with maternal factors known to contribute to poor pregnancy outcomes” (Woods et al., 2010). However, these pregnant women are in prison custody of the child is taken away from them, leaving them knowing full of the upcoming separation of themselves and their child, causing these masses of stress and anxiety. Women who give birth while in prison spend roughly a day or two with their newborns before the babies are taken away. This separation and loss, according to Hutchinson et al. (2008), is likely to be emotionally difficult and may even be a traumatic experience for many women. When the mother and infant are reunited, the initial trauma may make it impossible for the mother to reconnect with their child, damaging the motherly relationship that is essential for a child’s proper upbringing.

The Child of an Incarcerated Mother

The life of a child can be jeopardized while a mother is imprisoned. According to research, just 5% of children with a mother in prison remain in their family home during their mother’s prison sentence, with only 9% of these youngsters being cared for by their fathers. Furthermore, around a fifth of mothers are single parents while they are incarcerated. This leaves approximately 6,000 children in the care of other family members or friends with an estimated 12% entering the foster care system (Hamlyn and Lewis, 2000). In most areas, prisons try to keep inmates close to their families, but because there are so few jails that can accommodate women, female inmates are significantly more likely to be separated from their families. Therefore, visitation may become much more difficult as a result of this and limits the number of visits the mother has from her child.

Treatment of Women

The female population of prisoners is much lower than the number of men, and routine medical checks that are offered outside of prison are inadequately offered within the criminal justice system, therefore these women receive almost no medical care. For example, mammograms, pelvic examinations, and other procedures specifically for women are not available in most prisons, which on the outside world would be offered as a routine check, and should be continued within prisons as standardized procedures. In many cases, women in jail may be subjected to sexual abuse or assault by correctional personnel or other convicts. Female prisoners have been raped, touched, or abused by various forms of sexual coercion, according to research. Fear prevents many of these incidents from being reported (Macdonald, 2013).

Many studies focusing on the treatment of women within prisons are conducted by feminists. In particular, Carlen and Worrall (2013) completed research analyzing women’s imprisonment that outlined issues and challenges women endeavor during their time incarcerated. Within their studies, they focus on why and how female prisoners are treated differently from male prisoners, as well as prison design and its effects on females. Carlen and Worrall (2013) examined how female inmates are treated differently than male inmates, but not always in ways that benefit them. Carlen (2021) recently remarked that, even though many female inmates are regarded as men, their jail experiences are significantly different from those of male inmates. There are just 14 female jails compared to 139 male prisons (Carlen and Worrall, 2013). As a result, female jails are distributed throughout. This has several drawbacks, the most serious of which is that family contact may be exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, if the families are impoverished, as travel costs and time are not readily available to visit the female. ‘Prisonisation’, according to Carlen and Worrall (2013), is a major element in women’s incarceration. They feel that jails and prison systems are designed to meet the demands of men and are ill-equipped to meet the requirements of women. They also looked at how women adjust to jail in a bad way compared to men, as well as whether their behavior inside is a result of the regime’s and prison’s culture. In contrast to the earlier point of prisonisation, Carlen and Worrall addressed the idea that women can and do fight aspects of the experience of imprisonment by performing roles such as using femininity as a tool to counter prison life (Carlen and Worrall, 2013).

One-way female prisoners can be helped is by creating prisons that are centered on women. Arguments have been made that 100% female prisons, with 100% female staff, would eradicate gender prejudice and provide a better knowledge of the requirements of female convicts. Females are severely underrepresented in jail officer grades, according to researchers such as Liebling (2001), just as they are in the police force. They discovered that only 17% of prison officers were female, with 10% of senior officers and 7.5% of principal officers being female. Cross-gender communication is one of the concerns with female jails being overrun with male prison staff. Some female convicts may not feel comfortable telling male officers about their concerns, resulting in a sense of being ‘locked up’ and a build-up of frustration.

Why and How Things Should Change?

Due to the recent pandemic COVID-19, caused huge pressure on the criminal justice system as contact between mothers and their children, in many cases new-borns, came to a halt, as a result of the pandemic restrictions. The Guardian (2020) announced that only 24 females were released from prison under a prison scheme, allowing new mothers and pregnant women to be released as they neared the end of their sentence, despite there being an average total of 17,000 mothers in prisons.

According to Baunach (2020), the government intends to tackle the issues that come with mothers and pregnant women being incarcerated. These issues are highlighted throughout this paper. They are aiming to do this by:

• Considering temporary release from prison of mothers who have dependents and also pregnant females that are deemed as low risk to society, for example, those who have committed blue-collar crimes.
• Allowing visitation rights for children to their mothers in a more natural environment within the prison, such as a normal seating area.
• Completing yearly census to get accurate figures of the number of female inmates that have dependents.
• Correct prenatal care for pregnancies within prisons to ensure no harm is bought to the mother or the child.
• Pregnancy tests of offenders before being incarcerated to reduce the likelihood of an unknown pregnancy.
• All female prisons, reducing gender prejudice and making it a more comfortable environment for prisoners and staff.

Why Do These Changes Need to Happen Now?

In 2019, it was reported that a pregnant female in a prison located in Surrey gave birth to her child within her prison cell completely unaccompanied by any medical professionals, resulting in the death of the newly born child (Armstrong, 2020). It was discovered after multiple investigations that the stillbirth of the child was due to errors made by nurses and medical assistants within the prison and no CPR was performed to revive the newborn. The mother and prison were unaware of the pregnancy, however, had she been given the correct examinations, this would have been discovered. Following the birth, prison staff were leisurely phoned for an ambulance, and due to this, it was too late for any care for the baby to be given, however, if medical assistance was asked for immediately, the baby could have survived (Armstrong, 2020).

This outlines the reasons why these changes need to occur, and if these changes do occur, mothers in prisons will face far fewer challenges and prisons will have a less negative impact on the well-being of themselves and their children. These mothers will be less likely to have severe mental illnesses such as depression, and the child will be less likely to suffer the consequences of not having their mother present in their lives.