Raising Babies Behind Bars Analysis

Raising Babies Behind Bars There is an increased growth of women incarceration worldwide, especially in the United States. According to the Washington, DC Bureau of Justice Statistics , between 1980 and 2014, the number of incarcerated women increased by more than 700 percent, rising from a total of 26,378 in 1980 to 215,332 in 2014. Though many more men are in prison than women, the rate of growth for female imprisonment has outpaced men by more than 50% between 1980 and 2014. There are 1.2 million women under the supervision of the criminal justice system (Bureau of Justice Statistics). Majority of these incarcerated women are non-violent criminals. Angelina N. Chambers emphasized
Some studies indicate that when a mother-child bond is disturbed, the children often develop severe problems related to a disorganized attachment pattern and other deviant behaviors. In his theory of psychosocial development, a developmental psychologist named Erik Erikson discussed the potential conflicts that can develop out of the different stages of human life. The first of the eight stages of human development in the form of conflicts that Erikson discussed in human development is trust vs. mistrust that ranges from birth till one year. He emphasized that infants depend on caregivers to provide for their basic needs, and develop trust when these needs are met. Otherwise, they may grow up to be suspicious and mistrustful. Research findings have proven that when mother-infant bonding and attachment are interrupted or fail, the child may experience failure to thrive, abuse and neglect, distress and anxiety, and psychological damage (Chambers 16). Angelina N. Chambers also argues that “when mothers and babies are separated, the distress the mothers experience may be as intense as that of the babies when they are unable to visibly see each other” (23). Mother-infant bonding is also vital for incarcerated mothers as they get to see, touch, and hold their baby immediately after birth and during the postpartum time. Bonding helps prison mothers to experience psychological and physical postpartum changes positively as they need the physical and psychological object, which is the baby, to complete the process in a healthy manner so as to reduce post-partum depression (Chambers 29). When a child develops a secure attachment with his or her mom in jail, chances of prison visitation by that child increases when he or she leaves the