Measuring Attitudes Toward Pregnant Women who are Incarcerated in a University Sample

• Author: Rachel A. Clark,Kathryn Lasich,Emily Sluiter,Taylor Burman,Simran Jagirdar,Hannah Garavaglia,Neha Gogineni,Harshini Sakthivel,Miranda Manzo,Ruby Tapia
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/07340168211050428
• Published date: 01 December 2022
• Date: 01 December 2022
• Subject Matter: Articles

Measuring Attitudes Toward

Pregnant Women who are

Incarcerated in a University

Sample

Rachel A. Clark

1

, Kathryn Lasich

2

,

Emily Sluiter

1

, Taylor Burman

3

,

Simran Jagirdar

3

, Hannah Garavaglia

3

,

Neha Gogineni

3

, Harshini Sakthivel

3

,

Miranda Manzo

3

, and Ruby Tapia

3

Abstract

Public attitudes toward people who are incarcerated have been studied; however, there is a paucity of

information regarding how the public views pregnant women who are incarcerated. Weconducted a

quantitative and qualitative assessment investigating attitudes toward pregnant women who are incar-

cerated and prison conditions at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. Participants included 507 stu-

dents, staff, and faculty who were asked to specifically consider pregnant women who are incarcerated

while completing the survey. Wefound that women, younger people, non-religious or non-Christian

individuals, and those with higher levels of formal education perceived pregnant women who are incar-

cerated more positively and favored less punitive prison conditions. In addition, closer proximity to

people who are incarcerated was associated with more positive attitudes toward pregnant women

who are incarcerated but was not related to views on prison conditions. Qualitatively, participants

reported that considering pregnant women who are incarcerated led them to respond with the

same or less negativity than if they had been asked to consider people who are incarcerated as a

whole, citing factors such as gender stereotypes and concern for the child. These results can be

used as a foundation to understand how students, faculty, and staff at a large Midwestern university

perceive pregnant women who are incarcerated and to inform education and policy efforts.

Keywords

pregnant, incarcerated, attitudes, women, gender

Received January 19, 2021; revised August 30, 2021; accepted September 6, 2021

1

University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

2

Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, East Lansing, MI, USA

3

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

Corresponding Author:

Rachel A. Clark, University of Michigan Medical School, 1135 Catherine St, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.

Email: clarkrac@med.umich.edu

Article

Criminal Justice Review

2022, Vol. 47(4) 484-502

© 2021 Georgia State University

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/07340168211050428

journals.sagepub.com/home/cjr

Introduction

Conducting research about how the public views pregnant women who are incarcerated is impor-

tant, as policy changes regarding this population are urgently needed. The rate by which women are

incarcerated is increasing: over the past 40 years, women’s state prison populations have grown

about 834%, a rate twice that of men’s state prison growth (Sawyer, 2018). With this increase

in the number of women who are incarcerated, gender-responsive policies and understanding are

needed in the criminal legal system. For example, the majority of women who are incarcerated

are of childbearing age and some will be pregnant upon entering prison (Carson, 2018). Of a

sample of women incarcerated in 22 state prison systems and the Federal Bureau of Prisons

from 2016 to 2017, approximately 3.8% or 1396 were pregnant upon entering prison (Sufrin

et al., 2019). Furthermore, from 2017 to 2019, there were 1220 pregnant women in custody of

the US Marshals Service and 524 in custody of the Bureau of Prisons (United States

Government Accountability Office, 2021). We recognize the term incarceration encompasses

state control including, but not limited to, jails, juvenile facilities, parole, and probation;

however, throughout this article, the term incarcerated is used to refer to people in state and

federal prisons.

Pregnant women who are incarcerated have additional needs compared to people who are

incarcerated in general, such as prenatal care. However, in a study by the Bureau of Justice

Statistics, only slightly over half (54%) of pregnant women who are incarcerated reported

receiving prenatal care (Maruschak, 2008). Furthermore, pregnant women who are incarcerated

face traumas such as separation from their infant soon after birth or possibly being shackled

during labor or postpartum; nine states allow shackling during labor and delivery, 34 states

allow it in the postpartum period, and a large majority (83%) of labor and delivery nurses

surveyed across the US stated that their patients who are incarcerated were shackled some

or all of the time (Goshin et al., 2019; Thomas & Lanterman, 2019). There are also many bar-

riers to breastfeeding including separation from the infant and lack of access to pumping

equipment (Friedman et al., 2020). These studies depict the growing need for policies that

reflect the unique challenges and vulnerabilities pregnant incarcerated women face. An under-

standing of how the public views this population can be used to further these necessary

policy changes.

Furthermore, people who are or have been incarcerated face stigma and negative attitudes from

the general public. The perception or experience of stigma and negative attitudes can contribute to

difficulty in transitioning back into the community and weaker social bonds for people who have

been incarcerated (LeBel, 2012; Moore et al., 2016). Particularly relevant to pregnant women who

are incarcerated, children with parents who are incarcerated also face stigma and negative percep-

tions (Luther, 2016). In addition, attitudes toward individuals in a group are related to attitudes

about policies impacting them (Cottrell et al., 2010). Therefore, as the number of women who are

incarcerated continues to grow, it is important to investigate the public’s attitudes toward this pop-

ulation as well as policies related to the prison conditions this population lives in to help inform advo-

cacy and education efforts.

Current literature has paid little attention to subgroups within the incarcerated population, such as

pregnant women who are incarcerated and the public’s attitudes toward these people. To the best of

our knowledge, no studies have examined how the general public specifically perceives women or

pregnant women who are incarcerated. However, Goshin et al. (2020) have investigated the

stigma nurses have toward pregnant women who are incarcerated and found that increased stigma

was related to lower intentions to provide the standard of care to these women. Previous research

on how the public feels about people who are incarcerated and the conditions they live in can

help inform how the public may view pregnant individuals who are incarcerated and policies that

Clark et al. 485