Photos: Mothers and Babies in American Prisons

We run a Non-Profit Organisation in South Africa called Babies Behind Bars and our focus is trying to support and assist the mothers in prison with their Babies, with the help of Volunteers and sponsors.

Please join our Facebook Page under the name Babies Behind Bars or our blog www.babiesbehindbars.org or follow us on twitter: babiesbehindbrs

BABIES BEHIND BARS Unlocking Hope
Romy Titus, Anthony Ferreira, Lebo Motsoeli

We run a Non-Profit Organisation in South Africa called ???Babies Behind Bars??? and our focus is trying to support and assist the mothers in prison with their Babies, with the help of Volunteers and sponsors.

Please join our Facebook Page under the name ???Babies Behind Bars??? or our blog www.babiesbehindbars.org or follow us on twitter: ???babiesbehindbrs???

BABIES BEHIND BARS ???Unlocking Hope???
Romy Titus, Anthony Ferreira, Lebo Motsoeli

I am a 22 year old female whose mother served about a year in the legal system when i was a baby. Even tho i was not aware of the situation when i was a baby it is now something that i have to deal with everyday. I do, as the child in my case, feel lthat i was stripped and deprive of the oppertunity to bond with my mother in one of the most crucial stages of my life and that i does put a strain on my relationship with her even though she did all she could do to make up for the lost time.
Speaking for the children in these unfortunate circumstances i believe the best idea is for the mothers to keep their children.
From and adult POV the mother is obviously in jail because they made irresponsable decisions and therefore should be taught to take care of matters responsibly rather than be stripped of all of them

It's a great idea if most of them were merely convicted on white-collar crimes, it lets the kid be with the mother (and honestly, environment won't matter, people have warped standards now, babies were raised in the wild for hundreds of thousands of years). I would also assume it reminds the mother why she would want to get out of jail, and give her motivation to work hard for a better life. Having her child torn away from her doesn't help either of them.

Jail seems like it would be a very stable safe & secure place to raise a baby to me... earning a living is so passé anyway...

At first I thought "what a horrable idea, raising a baby in prison" but then I thought all those mom's are probably thinking the same thing "this is no place for my child". By having the child with the mother in prison, it's a constant reminder of that and the child is not "out of sight out of mind". With the mothers required to participate in parenting education classes and having the support of staff, they are able to learn the tools necessary to rais their child successfully. I could see how this would cut the number of repeat offenders because it gives the mom's the opportunity to really bond with their child, giving them the desire to remain out of prison and strive for a better life for their child.

So, if you think the court is going to send you to jail, get pregnant because raising a child will be more fun than doing nothing. This is a great program for the moms, but it stinks that kids are probably doomed from birth because the mothers are such poor role models. Perhaps homeless kids who feel awful about their situation will have a new appreciation for it after reading this story.

were those women pregnant before they went to prison ? or, did they get pregnant while they were in there? I don't think it's right that they intentionally do that while in there. It's not fair for the baby and tax payers.

WERE THESE WOMEN ALREADY PREGNANT WHEN THEY GOT THERE? OR, DID THEY GET PREGNANT WHILE THEY WERE IN THERE? I DON'T THINK THEY SHOULD ALLOW THEM TO GET INTIMATE WITH ANYONE WHILE IN PRISON.

It's probably a good way to help them prepare for their future.

I hope their counseling sessions include discussions about birth control.