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Incarceration, Maternal Hardship, and Perinatal Health Behaviors

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Abstract

Parental incarceration is associated with mental and physical health problems in children, yet little research directly tests mechanisms through which parental incarceration could imperil child health. We hypothesized that the incarceration of a woman or her romantic partner in the year before birth constituted an additional hardship for already-disadvantaged women, and that these additionally vulnerable women were less likely to engage in positive perinatal health behaviors important to infant and early childhood development. We analyzed 2006–2010 data from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment and Monitoring System to assess the association between incarceration in the year prior to the birth of a child and perinatal maternal hardships and behaviors. Women reporting incarceration of themselves or their partners in the year before birth of a child had .86 the odds (95 % CI .78–.95) of beginning prenatal care in the first trimester compared to women not reporting incarceration. They were nearly twice as likely to report partner abuse and were significantly more likely to rely on WIC and/or Medicaid for assistance during pregnancy. These associations persist after controlling for socioeconomic measures and other stressors, including homelessness and job loss. Incarceration of a woman or her partner in the year before birth is associated with higher odds of maternal hardship and poorer perinatal health behaviors. The unprecedented scale of incarceration in the US simultaneously presents an underutilized public health opportunity and constitutes a social determinant of health that may contribute to disparities in early childhood development.

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Acknowledgments

Jennifer G. Clarke is supported by NICHHD R01 HD054890 and Pamela Valera is supported by NCI K01CA154861. The authors wish to acknowledge Rachel Cain of the Rhode Island Department of Health Center for Health Data and Analysis and the CDC PRAMS Working Group: Izza Afgan, MPH (AL), Kathy Perham-Hester, MS, MPH (AK), Mary McGehee, PhD (AR), Alyson Shupe, PhD (CO), Jennifer Morin,MPH (CT), George Yocher, MS (DE), Avalon Adams-Thames, MPH, CHES (FL), Chinelo Ogbuanu, MD, MPH, PhD (GA), Emily Roberson, MPH (HI), Theresa Sandidge, MA (IL), Sarah Mauch, MPH (IA), Amy Zapata, MPH (LA), Tom Patenaude, MPH (ME), Diana Cheng, MD (MD), Emily Lu, MPH (MA), Cristin Larder, MS (MI), Judy Punyko, PhD, MPH (MN), Brenda Hughes, MPPA (MS), Venkata Garikapaty, MSc, MS, PhD, MPH (MO), JoAnn Dotson (MT), Brenda Coufal (NE), David J. Laflamme, PhD, MPH (NH), Lakota Kruse, MD (NJ), Eirian Coronado, MPH (NM), Anne Radigan-Garcia (NY), Candace Mulready-Ward, MPH (New York City), Kathleen Jones-Vessey, MS (NC), Sandra Anseth (ND), Connie Geidenberger PhD (OH), Alicia Lincoln, MSW, MSPH (OK), Kenneth Rosenberg, MD, MPH (OR), Tony Norwood (PA), Sam Viner-Brown, PhD (RI), Mike Smith, MSPH (SC), Rochelle Kingsley, MPH (TX), David Law, PhD (TN), Lynsey Gammon, MPH (UT), Peggy Brozicevic (VT), Marilyn Wenner (VA), Linda Lohdefinck (WA), Melissa Baker, MA (WV), Katherine Kvale, PhD (WI), Amy Spieker, MPH (WY), CDC PRAMS Team, Applied Sciences Branch, Division of Reproductive Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rhode Island Department of Health, Providence, RI, USA

    Dora M. Dumont

  2. Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

    Christopher Wildeman

  3. University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Hedwig Lee

  4. Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    Annie Gjelsvik & Jennifer G. Clarke

  5. Hasbro Children’s Hospital, Providence, RI, USA

    Annie Gjelsvik

  6. Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA

    Pamela Valera

  7. Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, Pawtucket, RI, USA

    Jennifer G. Clarke

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  1. Dora M. Dumont
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  2. Christopher Wildeman
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  3. Hedwig Lee
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  4. Annie Gjelsvik
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  5. Pamela Valera
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  6. Jennifer G. Clarke
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Correspondence to Dora M. Dumont.

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Dora M. Dumont was at The Miriam Hospital when this work was completed.

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Dumont, D.M., Wildeman, C., Lee, H. et al. Incarceration, Maternal Hardship, and Perinatal Health Behaviors. Matern Child Health J 18, 2179–2187 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-014-1466-3

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