Women’s Incarceration Exposure During Pregnancy and COVID-19 Experiences: Findings from the 2020 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System

• In Event: Health, Reentry, & Families

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted numerous aspects of life. However, the pandemic was uniquely disruptive for certain segments of the population, including those who experienced incarceration personally or vicariously through a family member. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic presented especially challenging experiences in the lives of women who were pregnant during this period. The aim of this study was to assess a women’s exposure to incarceration —either personally or vicariously through a spouse or partner— during pregnancy and an array of COVID-19 experiences including (1) access to prenatal care, (2) changes in patterns of social interactions and daily routines, (3) engagement in COVID-19 mitigation protocols, (4) exposure to the COVID-19 virus, and (5) changes to mental health. To investigate these associations, the current study uses data from the 2020 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) COVID-19 Experiences Supplemental Survey. Results from a series of regression analyses show that incarceration exposed women experienced an array of uniquely harmful and disruptive experiences during pregnancy as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic relative to their non-incarceration exposed counterparts. The implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for the health and wellbeing of incarceration exposed populations are discussed.

Authors

• Alexander Testa, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

• Dylan B. Jackson, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health