About 2,000 prisoners in American correctional facilities give birth each year. The issue of shackling pregnant inmates during and after labor raises a broader concern about excessively punitive aspects of prison culture.

• Democratic and Republican politicians alike have pushed for anti-shackling legislation.
• Doctors have called shackling a threat to the health of both mother and child.
• Criminologists have deemed it unnecessary; as it appears that no unshackled pregnant inmate has ever escaped during labor.

Quoting and Photo Source:   “In Labor, in Chains” by Audrey Quinn

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/27/opinion/sunday/the-outrageous-shackling-of-pregnant-inmates.html?_r=0

See also:  “Shackled During Childbirth” by Sadhbh Walshe

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article31523.htm

“Childbirth in Chains” by Colleen Mastony

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-07-18/news/ct-met-shackled-mothers-20100718_1_shackles-handcuffs-labor

“Should a Woman Be Shackled While Giving Birth? Most States Think So.” by Cristina Costantini

http://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/News/woman-shackled-giving-birth-states/story?id=17436798

“Bill To Stop The Shackling Of Pregnant Inmates Introduced By D.C. Lawmaker” by Arin Greenwood

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/18/dc-pregnant-inmates-shackled_n_3950049.html