Motherhood is a gift, and those blessed to experience it would agree, even expecting mothers in jail.
According to a recent study, the number of incarcerated women in the United States has grown from 26,000 in 1980 to 168,000 in 2020. More than half (58%) of women in prisons and jails are mothers, and the number of children with an imprisoned mother has increased by 131% since 1991, surpassing the growth rate of incarcerated fathers. Mothers in lockup have a different experience compared to those who aren’t behind bars, as incarceration can impact the emotional, physical, and psychological well-being of the mom and her baby, but luckily, programs of support are being established in jails, like Rikers Island’s Doula Program.
Doulas, if incorporated within a childbirth plan, can be highly beneficial for mothers, in general, but especially in jail, because they can provide the necessary essential non-medicial support to the incarcerated mothers, more specifically, emotional and physical assistance during pregnancy, labor, birth, and the postpartum period, as receiving that level of intimacy, is crucial in lockup, due to facing a lack of support from family and friends, and being stripped away of automony and decision-making, doulas within the jails stand in the gap for the inmates and serve as an advocate, often liaising medical professionals, and empowering them to speak up about their symptoms and become curious about the trajectory of their pregnancy. The level of comfort and trust the doula could bring in jail is helpful to build bonds, reduce birth trauma, and create a sense of normalcy, in dire situations, like being in jail while pregnant.
In partnership with the Caribbean Women’s Health Association (CWHA), the NYC Department of Correction (DOC) has launched a comprehensive Doula Program on Rikers Island, which offers vital support to incarcerated pregnant women and those who have recently given birth. This initiative aims to provide personalized, compassionate care before, during, and after birth at Rikers Island. Their Doula Program provides prenatal, postnatal, and postpartum support twice a week, offering at least three hours of direct daily assistance for individuals in custody. The program is dedicated to ensuring that pregnant women and new mothers receive the attention, resources, and education they need during their time in incarceration, with a focus on health, wellness, and the transition back into the community after release. Rikers Island also operates one of the country’s oldest nurseries, providing essential care and support for newborns born to incarcerated mothers. Their doulas offer regular, ongoing support to the women and their newborns in the nursery, ensuring a holistic approach to maternal and infant care.
Maternal care and support are critical at any stage of pregnancy or motherhood. Incarcerated women face unique challenges, and the Doula Program is designed to provide tailored, comprehensive support to ensure that mothers are not only supported during their pregnancy and birth experience but also in their postpartum recovery. By addressing physical, emotional, and educational needs, the staff within the Doula Program at Rikers Island empower women to navigate motherhood with confidence, dignity, and adequate preparation for life after release.
“All women deserve safe and supportive labor and delivery spaces regardless of their circumstances. That is a basic human right,” said DOC Commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie. “As advocates for the mother, doulas play a critical role preparing their clients for delivery and supporting them through what is a challenging and beautiful process. The women in our care deserve nothing less, and I am so thankful to the dedicated doulas who volunteer their time to support the expectant mothers in facilities.”
GOALS OF THE PROGRAM:
Support pregnant women and new mothers within our facilities with a holistic, individualized care.
Provide education and resources for both pregnancy and motherhood, including birth planning, breastfeeding, newborn care, and more.
Offer reentry resources and support materials for women upon their release, ensuring they are equipped with the knowledge and assistance they need for a successful transition.
DOULA SERVICES:
Prenatal Support – The doulas offer essential childbirth education and guidance to expectant mothers. This includes exploring various labor positions and preparing for birth.
Breastfeeding Support – Breastfeeding is a key component of maternal and infant health. Our doulas provide education on the benefits of breastfeeding, techniques for maintaining a good latch, proper positioning, and addressing any challenges that may arise during the breastfeeding process.
Labor Support – Doulas are available on-call to provide in-person, continuous support throughout labor, whether it is spontaneous labor, induction, or a Cesarean section.
Postpartum Support – After birth, doulas provide in-person care to help mothers navigate their recovery, including emotional support, guidance on newborn care, and assistance with breastfeeding.
Newborn Care Support – Doulas offer education and hands-on assistance in newborn care, covering everything from diapering, bathing, and soothing techniques, to understanding infant cues and ensuring the baby’s overall health and well-being.
Perinatal Bereavement Support – The program recognizes the emotional and physical toll that pregnancy loss or stillbirth can have on women. The CWHA doulas are trained to provide sensitive and supportive care during times of perinatal loss, such as preterm labor, premature birth, and stillbirth, offering comfort and counseling as needed.
Nadely Tavarez, Executive Director of Facility Programs at the NYC Department of Correction, says supporting mothers at Rikers Island is imperative and critical, especially during fragile times. “It’s crucial to support mothers here, especially during these times. For example, one inmate, Grace Pipkin, is pregnant right now, and she deserves to have just as much support as any other mother in any of those circumstances,” she shares.
As one could imagine, being pregnant while in jail can be extremely stressful, so to help the expecting mothers on Rikers Island, doulas focus on providing emotional support and leading with empathy and understanding, which in turn breeds trust and emotional connection. “During those times that women are pregnant, or postpartum, it’s a very vulnerable time, so we try to offer as much support as possible. The doula support is a resource we offer here for the women who are not just expecting, but women who have just given birth, up to a year, and they give them resources and emotional support. I think that extra support and just somebody to talk to that understands the space they’re in, as well as educate them on what they’re experiencing, what they’re feeling, anything that they may need, is special and necessary,” says Tavarez.
Rikers Island has two doulas and an on-site coordinator who interacts with the mothers bi-weekly and twice a week. Their team also includes social workers and intervention specialists. Additionally, they have associated congressional counselors and often consult with legal aid.
Mathania Toussaint, a doula on Rikers Island, takes her job seriously. She is passionate about helping mothers experiencing a difficult transition and providing emotional care during every aspect of their pregnancy. “I became a doula for this reason. For black women, I wanted to go into maternal health and maternal work, to support my people, the fact that we die at rates that we do is ludicrous,” she says.
“I feel so strongly about my clients because I got into this work to support people who traditionally wouldn’t get this work or who might not even know what a doula is.”
Toussiant tells me that emotional support is at the core of her doula work. “You’re dealing with clientele who have entirely different stories. They come from different walks of life. They’re incarcerated for various reasons. Some of them will share what’s going on from the beginning. And you have to get to know some of them a little bit. So I would say the bulk of it, to start, is emotional and getting to know who the client is, what kind of things they are dealing with, and from there, we can figure out what type of support they need,” she states.
On Rikers Island, the doulas first meet with the client, assess their needs, and assure them that they aren’t doctors, but are more than happy to advocate for them. “We let them know what a doula is, what we do, and what we’re there for. We always try to make sure they know that we’re not doctors. We don’t provide medical advice, but we can translate. We can provide childbirth education and other resources. From there, the client can decide, I want this resource or I don’t want this resource, and if they decide they want the resource, they sign a contract that says, ‘Hey, we want to work with you. And we say, ‘We would also like to work with you.’ From there, it’s typically conversations regarding their pregnancy and history with childbirth,” Toussiant says.
When it comes to creating a birth plan with the client, doulas focus on the mother’s emotional needs first. “I ask them, ‘What kind of things do you want to see at your birth?’ The thing that’s most important to me is empowering them, because a lot of times, people who are incarcerated for a while or multiple times, it affects their self-esteem. This turns into ‘ I’m just going to take whatever the doctors give me because why not?’ And that lack of confidence at the doctor’s office is a part of our community. It’s this weird two-fold, where we don’t trust doctors but allow them to do whatever they want. I let my clients know that they’re people who deserve to say how they feel about things. They’re people who deserve to ask a doctor, ‘Hey, I don’t understand this. Please explain this to me.’ They are people who deserve to say, ‘I don’t want that for myself.’” states Toussiant.
Additionally, Toussiant makes sure to ask about postpartum depression and if the mothers have experienced it in the past. The program happily supports mothers who have recently given birth, with a nursery inside the jail, and allows them to stay at the nursery for up to a year. “Postpartum depression is something I always ask about if they’ve experienced it in the past, or if they have depression, just because I always want to keep it on my radar. We support them after they’re incarcerated, if they’re out in the community, and throughout their postpartum period. Our program goes through the first year of postpartum, she says.
Within the nursery, the mothers are in charge of taking care of their babies around the clock. They will get a babysitter who will help. “We try our best to bring the babysitter, not just when mom is at court and things of that nature, but also to give mommy a break. In the first few weeks, those with newborns can be tough, so the babysitter is there with them for the first couple of weeks, as well as the doulas who also come and help them with any breastfeeding patients that they have, and provide education around newborn behaviors and care,” Taverez says. “That’s what’s so special about the doulas. We had a mom here who was with us for about a month, maybe two months, three, and so I saw how hands-on the doulas were: teaching her how to breastfeed, swaddle, and just giving that mom the support. And now they still see her. I get my updates through the doulas. We do get a lot of judgment around our nursery. We hear, ‘Why would you want to bring a baby into the jail?’ But your mind will change once you see it, see us, and the people doing the groundwork, the doulas, and the social workers here. We’re just so invested,” she says.
A woman in custody at Rikers Island, Grace Pipkin, is a bright and infectious 23-year-old, and five months pregnant. She will soon be expecting her third child, a son, and speaks highly of the doula program. “When I got here, I didn’t like anybody, I didn’t want to talk to anybody, and I didn’t want to go to mental health appointments to receive my anxiety medication. I didn’t want to be around people. And then, I met my doula, and it kind of opened me up to understand that I do need the help, that I need to be mentally aware of everything and make sure my mental health is good, because my postpartum depression gets bad. I can get in my head sometimes, and I don’t want that because my feelings also affect the baby. So it was my doula who got me to open up,” she says.
This is Pipkin’s first experience working with doulas throughout her pregnancy, and she can see the positive results. “They’re my first doulas and they have made my birth experience the best so far, even being incarcerated, which is a wild experience. I feel so healthy,” she joyfully shares. “I would say my motherhood journey has been much better because before, I sulked in my bed all day and wouldn’t do anything. I just kind of stayed depressed in my room, even while pregnant with my last two kids, while I wasn’t incarcerated. Now I feel more active, more okay. I realized I need to get up; I can’t be in bed all day.”
Pipkin believes that Rikers Island’s Doula Program is empowering her to speak up and use her voice when it comes to medical advice and guidance. “This program makes me feel like I have more of a voice with my last two kids. Before the program, I went with what the doctors said in the hospital. I wasn’t really aware of what medicines I should have. During my second pregnancy, my boyfriend was there, and he spoke for me. However, it didn’t feel like my voice was getting heard because somebody else was still speaking for me. Still, now I feel like even though I do have somebody else speaking for me, my doula is also another mom and another woman. She understands my pain, feelings, and emotions, and how I feel about everything happening. So it makes me feel like I have a bigger voice, like I’m actually being heard. I get so excited when I see my doulas,” she shares.
She continues, “It’s comforting to know that so many other people care, other than just my child’s father, because being in here, it’s like, yes, some people care, but at the same time, they don’t have to. They’re not obligated to. They don’t have to be around you. They choose to. So to know that you have somebody willing to check on you, make sure you’re okay mentally, physically, emotionally, and eat well and sleep well, is a big help. It’s a significant benefit. Sometimes, I can’t reach out to my child’s father; sometimes he’s working, and sometimes he just doesn’t answer the phone. And on those days, I feel a little down about it, but then, my doulas will show up and I’ll be all happy and know that somebody cares about me.”
If anyone would like to donate to the Rikers Island Doula Program, they can contact Nadely Tavarez at the Department of Correction at [email protected].
