An open letter to Brandon Lewis, the justice minister, and the Sentencing Council for England and Wales warns that pregnant women in prison suffer severe stress and highlights evidence to suggest they are more likely to give birth to stillbirths. Signatories include the Royal College of Midwives and Liberty. The letter states: “Research into the experiences of pregnant women in English prisons found that [they] they could not access basic amenities, adequate nutrition or clean air and that the fear of possible separation from their baby or the shame of becoming an incarcerated mother was debilitating.” Women make up less than 5% of the total prison population, with around 3,200 in prisons in England and Wales. The government says it has introduced a package of measures to improve support for pregnant women in prison. In 2021/2022, there were 50 births to women in prison in England and Wales: 47 in hospital and three on hospital transport or in prison. The prisons and probation ombudsman published a report last year into the death of a teenage baby after she gave birth alone in her cell in 2019 at HMP Bronzefield in Surrey. The woman had to bite the umbilical cord and wrapped her baby in a towel. The child was dead when medical help arrived in the morning. Figures published by the Observer in December showed that women in prison were five times more likely to have a stillbirth and twice as likely to give birth prematurely. Research by the Nuffield Trust, an independent thinktank, also found that female prisoners are almost twice as likely to give birth prematurely as women in the general population. Babies and toddlers accompanied by their parents on Saturday demonstrated outside HMP Bronzefield in a ‘toy noise’ protest against babies being born in custody, organized by Level Up, a gender justice campaign group, and the No Births Behind Bars campaign. Anna Harley, 36, who gave birth while on remand before her sentencing, joined the protest. Harley told PA Media she gave birth at 5:30 a.m., but the jail didn’t put her in an ambulance for another five hours. She gave birth in the hospital with two prison officers nearby. She was granted bail for three months after the birth of her son, but was eventually sentenced to prison. It took six weeks for her to secure a place in a mother and baby unit so she could be reunited with her child. He said: “I’ve been home for five years, but so far, it’s been the worst time of my life.” Janey Starling, co-director of Level Up, said: “Judges and judges need to be aware that when they sentence a pregnant woman to prison, they could also be sentencing her to stillbirth. “The Sentencing Council has the power to prevent the senseless, unnecessary harm the prison system causes to pregnant women, new mothers and babies. It is time for the UK to end the inhumane practice of imprisoning pregnant women, mothers and babies.” Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Kath Abrahams, chief executive of Tommy’s, the pregnancy charity, said: “Tommy’s believes that everyone should have equal access to good maternity care, no matter who they are or where they are based. The shocking statistics about pregnant women in prison and their babies show that prison is not a safe place to be pregnant.” A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “We now have dedicated mother and baby liaison officers in every women’s prison, we have put in place additional welfare checks and we are doing better social service monitoring and support so that pregnant prisoners get the care they need. “The number of women going to prison has fallen by 24 percent since 2010, and we’re investing millions in community services like women’s centers and drug rehabilitation so that even fewer women end up there.”