Your Best Birth: Convict Style.
Posted by realityrounds on June 16, 2009
A Laboring Convicts Birth Plan
- Wait until I am 10 cm dilated and pushing to distract staff into complacency.
- Whittle shiv from card board food tray with my teeth between contractions.
- Use IV tubing to tie up doctors and nurses to make my escape.
- Quick, birth that baby!
- Overcome prison guard and entire L&D staff with one arm, while holding newborn in other.
- Run out of unit with placenta still attached.
- Stop and ask for free bus pass at hospital courtesy desk.
- Take bus back to my hood with new baby so I can plan my next criminal action.
Is this birth plan ridiculous? Hell yes. Why did I write it? Because of the ridiculous news coming out of the Windy City. Some female inmates of Cook County are suing the city and sheriffs department because they were forced to be shackled during their labor and delivery. The federal suit filed Thursday against the sheriff’s department and Cook County claims the “shackling policy,” which requires correctional officers to shackle pregnant woman in their custody during and immediately after labor and delivery, violates human rights and shows indifference to rights secured by the Constitution of the United States. NBC Chicago
Of course, because of HIPPA laws, we will never know what really happened in those hospital rooms. Some are saying the shackles were released during pushing, others are saying no they were not. The point to me is, a laboring woman does not need to be shackled during labor! Let’s get real people. In 16 years I have seen a pregnant woman restrained only once. She was not in labor, but she had a severe mental illness, and was in danger mostly to herself. I am going to assume that those of you who also work in L&D will agree with me. We rarely restrain pregnant women. Even women who come in hopped up on drugs, screaming bloody murder, and clawing at the staff..no restraints. Even women having psychotic breakthroughs while pushing telling us they will cut out our hearts with a butter knife if we say “you’re almost there. Only one more push.”….no restraints. Why should these imprisoned women be treated any differently? An armed guard outside the hospital room would be more than enough security.
What struck me as scary and very ignorant were the readers comments to this NBC story. Here are a few snippets for your reading pleasure:
“In a perfect world, these convicts would go thru abortions. The women are habitual criminals….thiefs, murderers, crackheads.”
“This is stupid! Cry me a river you pathetic inmates,criminals, scums of life”
“Excuse me…..YOUR IN PRISION YOU IDIOTS…….TOUGH ! Maybe you baby mamas should have thought about NOT getting preggers or doing a crime while preggers…BOO HOO BOO HOO….Whats really degrading is the fact that I HAVE TO NOW PAY FOR YOUR BEHIND IN JAIL AND YOUR KID……You want pity……SORRY ! BOO HOO BOO HOO……Cru me a fricken river………………………….Maybe you cry babies should have been living a CRIME FREE LIFE……how about that……”
“This is a frivolous case, they are in jail for a reason, doesn’t matter what that is. They need to be restrained somehow, so they don’t attack the nurses/doctors. Any visitor could bring them contraband. I don’t have a problem with the shackles. If a family member ends up in jail and needs to deliver there….then so be it!! It’s enough that we are paying for their jail stay.. I say bread & water. Not 3 square plus medical/dental…. How about a tent camp like in Arizona!!!!”
Obviously, the knuckle-draggers that left these comments have never witnessed a baby being born, or had a baby themselves. No one is saying these women do not deserve to be in jail. But they do deserve some basic human rights which include delivering a baby free from chains!
I can’t believe I even had to write this post.
RR
Jill said
Knuckledraggers is right. Clueless, out of touch with reality and mean. You would think the article was about giving inmates a day-pass to go get massages at a nearby spa.
The battlecries for sterilization (or forced abortion) and the “feed her bread and water” are my favorite. Hey, let’s not give inmates any folic acid and increase the risk of birth defects– that’ll teach ‘em! Yeah!
realityrounds said
I just don’t see the need for the shackles. It is overkill. At the very least we can wait until they are recovered from the delivery. I had to stop reading the comments on the NBC page. They were nauseating.
Rose said
The pregnant inmates in my city are taken to the local clinic and then to my hospital for their triage visits and subsequent labor/delivery. I’ave had several in triage-they all stay shackled to some effect. Usually just their ankles are handcuffed together.
I had one when she was in labor/delivering. The guard kept her handcuffed at the ankles until she got her epidural-then she completely uncuffed her. Reasonable, since with an epidural you aren’t making any kind of escape. Afterwards, when transferring to postpartum floor, she shackled her ankles but we covered her up with a sheet so you couldn’t tell. Of course, the guard walkign with us was a giveaway.
Though, we did actually have an inmate escape once a few years ago. She was in triage, and had been alowed to walk to the triage bathroom by herself to provide urine sample. the exit to triage is right beside the bathroom. she opened the door to bathroom wide and slipped out the triage door and left. she was easily found, though.
Pregnant inmates are still pregnant women and need to be treated with respect.
realityrounds said
Shackling an inmate in triage is one thing, but during delivery? It seems like common sense is going out the window.
MomTFH said
Just like the HIV issue we recently talked about, I will be dealing with birthing convicts directly if I get the local residency I want. As of know, I think they are shackled during delivery (they were when someone I knew trained there as a nurse midwife.) I had a real problem with it when I found out and still do. She thought it was hunky dory as a labor nurse, but we didn’t see eye to eye on everything. However, she had first hand experience, and I didn’t.
realityrounds said
I just can’t imagine going through labor being strapped down. And how is a woman going to escape while in active labor? We have way more dangerous visitors than we do women in labor. I would love to occasionally shackle-up some of the visiting fathers. Like the one who beat his teenage girlfriend and burnt her with cigarettes, who then subsequently delivered a 24 weeker. He had the nerve to be all up in the staffs face about his rights for visitation and naming the baby etc. The social worker ended up calling the police and having his ass carted away.
MomTFH said
Absolutely about their being more dangerous people not being pregnant and in jail. The United States has the highest per capita prison population in the world, and most of these women are non violent offenders. Obviously if anyone is attacking a health care practitioner, whether a convict in labor or a psychotic patient of any kids, he or she may need restraints.
MomTFH said
Um, that should say “as of now”. Sorry, typos make me twitchy.
R. May said
Insane! Birth is hard enough – I can’t even fathom not being able to move in any real sense and having to birth.
I can understand there can be safety concerns but there is no reason they can’t come up with a better, more reasonable way.
Perhaps at minimum they can deign to release the cuffs during active labor and birth.
I think a lot of comments are made with the intent to incite, not necessarily the true beliefs of the person. Anonymity breeds jerks.
realityrounds said
I hope those comments are only meant to inflame, but unfortunately I think a lot of ignorant people believe what these people are spewing. There is zero empathy.
MomTFH said
Yes, I think they are real people who really think that way. When I talked to fellow pre med students a while ago about wearing black to protest police brutality one day, you should have heard the heartless comments. How those people deserved it, shouldn’t have been breaking the law in the first place. Um, brutality people. Not simple arrest.
pinky said
As you said, it is silly because with an epidural she isn’t going to run very fast. Not to mention the whole birth thing may slow her down. As for the comments section, some people have anger issues that is for sure.
takingheart said
I like the more gentle approach.
Discharge them from jail to have their baby. Release the baby to CPS or trusted family.
Pt. goes back to jail or to rehab.
This works most of the time in my small community.
Otherwise, if they are a danger to themselves or others… they are shackled with no rights to television… pop… poptarts…
Cuffs are off for all deliveries… but return at postpartum.
These women are few and far between.
Most nurses on my unit are softies for all… we all want to hear their stories.
Everyone has a story to tell.
atyourcervix said
We have occasionally had prisoners on L&D. They always have two guards with them. If they are not in active labor, they are handcuffed (one wrist) to the bed. If they are in labor, they are totally uncuffed. I had one woman, several years ago, that was a long term antenatal admission. She never had guards with her. We did do a once a day call with the prison nurse to update them on her status. After she delivered, they came to bring her back to the prison on postpartum day 1 or 2. Really a sweet girl too. I think she was in prison for a parole violation. Can’t remember what her original conviction was — something non-violent though. Might have been drug possession.
bamafanonly said
10 years ago I was 6 weeks pregnant and sentenced to 150 months (12 1/2 years) in Federal Prison on a Drug Conspiracy charge. I was told by the pretrial officer that even though this was my first offense, I would most likely be allowed 12 hours with my baby when he was born and would be shackled, due to the length of my sentence, during the birth. Thank God that I had a Case Mngr. that fought tooth and nail for me and I was entered into the MINT Program. (Mothers and Infants Together). As I researched this program and the Justice system, I realized that I was one of the first Female Inmates with a sentence over 10 years to be accepted into this program. As soon as I gave birth and got to spend 3 months with my son, take him home to be placed, self reported (again) to the Federal Facility, my sentence was reduced to 5 years thanks to a co-defendent. What if I had been catoragized as the ‘MONSTER’, ‘BAD PERSON’ etc… society is so convinced we are? I would not have had the results with my beautiful son that I had. He is much better today at 10, I truly believe, because he got that binding time with me.
Now, let me tell you what one piece of hope can do for a person who has ultimately lost all hope. In the 5 years that I did not see him, my ultimate goal was to better his life than the way it began. I earned 2 business degrees while incarcerated, 48 self help certificates and awards, self worth that I had never had, and went through pretrial, 5 years in prison, 3 years parole worked 3 jobs after my release and rode the City Transit system to all 3 jobs, never late, met all meeting requirements-never late and all throughout this process I never recieved a negative mark on my record. I vowed that it I got a second chance and a little hope I would never let him feel the pain I felt for the way I brought him into this world.
Today, 5 years after my release, I’m close to a six figure income and have full custody of a well adjusted son. He is 10 now.
All women and men in prison aren’t what society has envisioned. A conspiracy charge is the charge they don’t have to prove. In my case, I wasn’t innocent in that my lifestyle was not one of a good contributing member of society. I was messed up, addicted and was being swallowed up by a lifestyle that I truly didn’t know how to get away from. Going to prison was the 2nd chance I needed to get back on track.
So, please, before anyone puts all inmates who are pregnant, think about what hope and prayer could do for them!
realityrounds said
What an amazing story! Thank you so much for sharing it. I may make it a post if you don’t mind. You are an extremely strong woman and very inspiring. Your story will help others.
bamafanonly said
Yes…that will be fine. Sometimes I feel so helpless as to how to help others in my position..that would be great! When I was sentenced the judge couldn’t even tell me what would happen during delivery or how I was supposed to get prenatal care and infant placement or anything and I just felt so hopeless and helpless at the time. I just finally started researching and asking questions and pushing and pushing all while wanting to scream ” I’m really not that bad of a person!”
When they would read my history and found out I was an ex competitive swimmer and never had been in trouble, they seemed somewhat appreciative of the fact that I wasn’t a repeat offender which made me wonder sooooo many times how many others have been in my exact same shoes and didn’t have the hope or means to push like I did and my wonderful case manager who really went to bat for me.
Thanks so much…each step toward a helping hand is a step in the right direction!
thanks again….I will send you some of my writing over the next few days so it will give you some more insight…
Lynne
Judgement « Reality Rounds said
[...] back I wrote about pregnant convicts being shackled during their labor. The original newspaper article included comments from readers that were less [...]