Pregnant and Imprisoned: Formerly Pregnant Inmates Make Sense of the Stigma

• In Event: 600 - Section on Crime, Law and Deviance Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 03. Deviant and Delinquent Identities

Abstract

This qualitative study addresses how former pregnant inmates conceptualized their identities as prisoners and expectant mothers within the normative frameworks that outline how mothers and prisoners should behave, according to traditional cultural scripts. Specifically, this research examines how motherhood is constructed in prison given the criminal label and dominant stereotypes, with a specific focus on the ways in which former pregnant inmates coped with their pregnancies while incarcerated, as these women relied heavily on various social support systems to “get through” and come to terms with their identities as pregnant prisoners. Women’s narratives suggest that incarcerated expecting mothers are heavily scrutinized and demonstrate the gendered nature of social control, while illustrating how former pregnant inmates created parenting and reunification plans for their infants. Findings indicate that former incarcerated women struggle to embody motherhood according to traditional scripts, given the criminal stigmas attached to them.

Author

• Rebecca Rodriguez Carey, University of Missouri