Incarcerated mothers are subjected to trauma during all stages of motherhood, making their experiences of parenting starkly different from those who are not incarcerated. In particular, these differences, complicate mainstream conceptualizations of PPD. Medical and societal ways of understanding, measuring, and treating PPD among non-incarcerated mothers are not transferable to incarcerated mothers. The common risk factors for non-incarcerated mothers such as lacking social support, past experiences of childhood trauma, traumatic childbirth experiences, and anxiety about raising their child are almost always guaranteed experiences in a carceral space. It was only recently that acknowledgments of the trauma specific to prison pregnancy and birth received attention. While crucial, the postpartum period and the role traumatic prison pregnancies play in the postpartum period tend to be overlooked. My research urges us to reimagine PPD among incarcerated mothers in a way that adequately accounts for the experiences of prison-induced trauma. Once we understand PPD in the context of systemic oppression and mass incarceration more comprehensively, incarcerated mothers can receive increased validation of their PPD and have access to system-informed care that understands the role prison plays in their experiences of PPD.
Below I have listed the various prison-specific circumstances that standard mechanisms of diagnosis and measurement of PPD fail to capture. These uniquely oppressive circumstances call for a reimagining of the PPD experience behind bars.
Prison-Induced Trauma:
- Forced Separation: In most U.S. prisons incarcerated mothers and their children are separated after anywhere from 24-48 hours postpartum. Mother and child contact and bonding in the first moments of their union is a crucial piece to experiencing a healthy postpartum period, yet that is completely stripped away from most incarcerated mothers.
- Bed Shackling: Incarcerated mothers are shackled to the bed during childbirth and/or the entire duration of their labor visit. This inhumane treatment poses great threats to the physical health and safety of the mother and child. One of the highest risk factors for developing PPD is experiencing health complications during the birthing process as well as the child being born with health issues.
- No Social Support: Social support networks are stripped from the labor experiences of incarcerated mothers. Oftentimes prison guards are the only additional individuals who can accompany the mother. This poses a major threat to developing PPD as a lack of social support network during both labor and the postpartum period are some of the highest risks for developing PPD.
- Anxiety and Uncertainty: Incarcerated mothers are equipped with a limited understanding of where their child is to go post-birth and how their child will get there safely. This anxiety and uncertainty are induced by the carceral system and the belief that incarcerated mothers are not entitled to having agency in post-birth arrangements. This stripping of agency can contribute to a low level of maternal self-image which can greatly impact the onset of PPD.
- Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) On Day One: Incarcerated populations are often groups of people who have endured copious amounts of childhood trauma which is a leading cause of PPD as childbirth can reactivate childhood trauma. Not only can giving birth to a child of your own reactivate past trauma, but giving birth in unjust circumstances such as while incarcerated can add another layer of trauma and in turn increase the risk for PPD. Children born to incarcerated mothers have their first Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) on day one of their lives, which oftentimes leaves incarcerated mothers with increased feelings of guilt and shame, which play a major role in the onset of PPD.
- Limited Postpartum Programming or Support: There is limited to no postpartum support for incarcerated mothers upon arrival back to prison. Many incarcerated mothers are sent back to reside with the general prison population where they experience the physical and mental pains of postpartum alone (C. Sammon, personal correspondence, July 10, 2024). Typically the pain of incarcerated women is dismissed, posing major threats to their overall health and their likelihood of developing PPD.
- Prison-Specific Consequences for Honest Self-Reporting: One of the most glaring indicators of PPD is if the mother is experiencing thoughts of hurting herself or her baby. While that is a symptom no struggling mother wants to admit, incarcerated mothers very much cannot admit that without risking increased maltreatment from the prison. Increased surveillance, control, and (ironically) violence are placed on an incarcerated person once they admit to having self-harm or homicidal thoughts. To preserve their current status and not face any additional consequences, this reality often subjects incarcerated women with PPD to experience these intense thoughts in isolation.
- Remaining Time Left Incarcerated: It is found that the greater the amount of time a mother has left being incarcerated postpartum, the higher her chance is in developing PPD. The traumatic and dismissive experiences of the carceral space provide fertile ground for developing PPD. This reality is furthered when a mother has years of her sentencing upon her– knowing that she very well may not ever be able to see her child during the remainder of her incarceration.