Abstract
Objective
With the increasing number of incarcerated women worldwide, the rate of women who experience pregnancy in prison, has also increased in this population. Exploring the unique experience of pregnant prisoners can contribute to understanding the complex world of this vulnerable population and, as a result, tailoring programs to promote their health status. The objective of this study was to understand the psychological experience of pregnancy in prison based on the lived experiences of incarcerated women.
Methods
This was a qualitative inquiry using van Manen’s approach to phenomenology. Seven pregnant and four early postpartum women, with experience of pregnancy during incarceration, were selected purposefully in a prison in Iran from 2019 to 2020. In-depth semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. To analyze data, six-step van Manen’s descriptive-interpretive phenomenological approach was adopted using MAXQDA10 software.
Results
The main theme of “white torture”, a term used to describe the psychological and emotional distress experienced by incarcerated pregnant women, emerged from the data analysis. This theme echoes the pressure and torment of pregnancy on incarcerated women and consists of two subthemes: “captive to bitter and harsh emotions” and “suffering from psychosomatic pain and injuries.”
Conclusion for Practice
As an emotional trauma, pregnancy puts incarcerated women under psychological torture. Policies should be developed towards the acknowledgment and meeting of the unique psychological needs of pregnant women in prison. It is also crucial for healthcare providers to provide women in prison with training on coping strategies to address the psychological and emotional challenges of pregnancy.
Significance
The women who get pregnant while incarcerated face many of emotions ranging from isolation and grief to anger and hostility. Incarcerated pregnant women are constantly tormented; a torment that may have no physical evidence but for pregnant prisoners, their bulging abdomen, leaves deep and long-term psychological impacts that seems like constant torture. This shows that the psychological needs of these women should be identified, and comprehensive executive-guaranteed mental health programs must be developed to promote their psychological and emotional health.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abbott, L., & Thomas, S. P. (2020). H. Breaking down global barriers: physical and emotional health of pregnant prisoners: Findings of an Ethnographic Study of Perinatal Women in English Prisons. Paper presented at the Paper presented at 5th Commonwealth Nurses and Midwives Conference, London, United Kingdom.
Abbott, L., Scott, T., Thomas, H., & Weston, K. (2020). Pregnancy and childbirth in English prisons: Institutional ignominy and the pains of imprisonment. Sociology of Health & Illness, 42(3), 660–675.
Aborisade, R. A., & Fayemi, J. A. (2016). A qualitative exploration of the coping strategies of female offenders in Nigerian prisons. International Journal of Criminology and Sociological Theory, 9(1).
Albertson, K., O’Keeffe, C., Burke, C., Lessing-Turner, G., & Renfrew, M. (2014). Addressing health inequalities for mothers and babies in prison. Health and Inequality: Applying Public Health Research to Policy and Practice, 39.
Alirezaei, S., & Latifnejad Roudsari, R. (2020). Promoting health care for pregnant women in prison: A review of international guidelines. Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, 25(2), 91.
Alirezaei, S., & Latifnejad Roudsari, R. (2022a). Imprisoned pregnant women’s lived experience of prenatal care: A phenomenological Inquiry. Journal of Midwifery and Reproductive Health, 10(2), 3258–3267.
Alirezaei, S., & Latifnejad Roudsari, R. (2022b). The needs of incarcerated pregnant women: A systematic review of literature. International Journal of Community Based Nursing and Midwifery, 10(1), 2–17. https://doi.org/10.30476/IJCBNM.2021.89508.1613
Ataei, B., Khorvash, F., Azadeh, S., Nokhodian, Z., Kassaian, N., & Babak, A. (2011). The prevalence of high risk behaviors among women prisoners in isfahan, iran. Journal of Isfahan Medical School, 29(150).
Baker, B. (2019). Perinatal outcomes of incarcerated pregnant women: An integrative review. Journal of Correctional Health Care: The Official Journal of the National Commission on Correctional Health Care, 25(2), 92–104. https://doi.org/10.1177/1078345819832366.
Bard, E., & Plugge, K. M. E (2016). Perinatal health care services for imprisoned pregnant women and associated outcomes: A systematic review. Bmc Pregnancy and Childbirth, 16(1), 1–9.
Bronson, J., & Sufrin, C. (2019). Pregnant women in prison and Jail don’t count: Data gaps on maternal health and incarceration. Public Health Reports, 134(1_suppl), 57s–62s. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033354918812088.
Canada, K., Barrenger, S., Bohrman, C., Banks, A., & Peketi, P. (2022). Multi-level barriers to Prison Mental Health and Physical Health Care for individuals with Mental illnesses. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13, 777124. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.777124.
Crewe, B., Hulley, S., & Wright, S. (2017). The gendered pains of life imprisonment. British Journal of Criminology, 57(6), 1359–1378.
DeHart, D. D. (2018). Women’s pathways to crime: A heuristic typology of offenders. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 45(10), 1461–1482.
Fochi, M. C. S., da Silva, A. R. C., & de Moraes Lopes, M. H. B. (2014). Prenatal care in a primary healthcare center for imprisoned pregnant women. Northeast Network Nursing Journal, 15(2).
Friedman, S. H., Kaempf, A., & Kauffman, S. (2020). The realities of pregnancy and Mothering while incarcerated. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online JAAPL 003924 – 003920. https://doi.org/10.29158/jaapl.003924-20.
Fritz, S., & Whiteacre, K. (2016). Prison nurseries: Experiences of incarcerated women during pregnancy. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 55(1), 1–20.
Ghazinezhad, M., & Abasian, M. (2011). Qualitative Study of Social Factors of Spousal Homicide.
Gillette, K. E. (2011). The psychological and emotional experiences of pregnant and postpartum incarcerated women.
Goffman, E. (1968). Asylums: Essays on the social situation of mental patients and other inmates. AldineTransaction.
Hayes, C. M., Sufrin, C., & Perritt, J. B. (2020). Reproductive Justice disrupted: Mass Incarceration as a driver of Reproductive Oppression. American Journal of Public Health, 110(S1), S21–s24. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2019.305407.
Kennedy, A., Marshall, D., Parkinson, D., Delap, N., & Abbott, L. (2016). Birth Charter for women in prisons in England and Wales. Birth Companions.
Leder, D. (2016). The distressed body: Rethinking illness, imprisonment, and healing. University of Chicago Press.
Mignon, S. (2016). Health issues of incarcerated women in the United States. Ciencia & Saude Coletiva, 21, 2051–2060.
Mukherjee, S., Pierre-Victor, D., Bahelah, R., & Madhivanan, P. (2014). Mental health issues among pregnant women in correctional facilities: A systematic review. Women and Health, 54(8), 816–842. https://doi.org/10.1080/03630242.2014.932894.
Neubauer, B. E., Witkop, C. T., & Varpio, L. (2019). How phenomenology can help us learn from the experiences of others. Perspect Med Educ, 8(2), 90–97. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40037-019-0509-2.
Rashidi, A., & Barati, M. (2017). Studying the conditions of women prisoners and their Rehabilitation methods: A Case Study ofArak prisoners, 1394. Women Studies, 7(17), 67–93.
Rimaz, S., Ebrahimi-Kalan, M., Gharibzadeh, S., Vasali, S., Zandian, E., Dastoorpoor, M., & Rajabi, A. (2016). The mental health and its related factors in women prisoners. Rahavard Salamat Journal, 1(2), 1–15.
Sapkota, D., Dennison, S., Allen, J., Gamble, J., Williams, C., Malope-Rwodzi, N., & Renae McGee, T. (2022). Navigating pregnancy and early motherhood in prison: A thematic analysis of mothers’ experiences. Health & Justice, 10(1), 32.
Shah, S., Plugge, E., & Douglas, N. (2011). Ethnic differences in the health of women prisoners. Public Health, 125(6), 349–356.
Speziale, H. S., Streubert, H. J., & Carpenter, D. R. (2011). Qualitative research in nursing: Advancing the humanistic imperative. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Sykes, G. M. (2007). The society of captives: A study of a maximum security prison. Princeton University Press.
van den Bergh, B. J., Gatherer, A., Fraser, A., & Moller, L. (2011). Imprisonment and women’s health: Concerns about gender sensitivity, human rights and public health. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 89(9), 689–694. https://doi.org/10.2471/blt.10.082842.
Van Manen, M. (2016). Researching lived experience: Human science for an action sensitive pedagogy. Routledge.
Wang, L. (2021). Unsupportive environments and limited policies: Pregnancy, postpartum, and birth during incarceration. Prison Policy Initiative.
Wansley, R. (2021). International Centre for Prison Studies. World Prison Population List. Internet]. World Prison Brief. Available from Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research https://www.prisonstudies.org/country/iran.
Watch, H. R. (2021). Iran: Prisoners’ Rights at Risk Amid COVID-19. Retrieved from https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/04/19/iran-prisoners-rights-risk-amid-covid-19.
Wismont, J. (2000). The lived pregnancy experience of women in prison (Vol. 45).
Acknowledgements
The research team thank the Research Deputy of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran for the financial support of this research and the study participants who shared their stories and time with us.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethical Approval
This study was approved by the Local Research Ethics Committee of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences under code of IR. MUMS.1398.099. Moreover, the required permission of entrance to the women’s section of Mashhad Central Prison was obtained via the Directorate-General of Prisons.
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. This research is part of a PhD thesis in Reproductive Health of the first author (SA), which was financially supported by Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran (Grant number: 980109).
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Alirezaei, S., Roudsari, R.L. A Phenomenological Inquiry into the Psychological Experiences of Incarcerated Pregnant Women. Matern Child Health J (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-024-03907-5
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-024-03907-5