The death of a newborn baby girl in a cell at HMP Bronzefield in September came after a string of concerning incidents involving pregnant women at the prison in the past two years, the Guardian has learned.

On at least four occasions in this period, women held at the privately run Surrey prison have given birth in distressing and potentially unsafe circumstances, including one woman who gave birth in her cell and another who was left in labour at night-time supported only by another pregnant prisoner.

The revelations raise questions about the safety of pregnant women in prison and come as calls grow for an end to their detention in all but the most exceptional circumstances.

The Ministry of Justice does not collect any central figures on the numbers of pregnant women, births or stillbirths within the prison estate. But the Guardian has obtained hospital records that suggest there has been a steady increase in the number of babies born to prisoners in the past five years. In 2017-18, unpublished findings by the Nuffield Trust suggest that one in 10 of these women gave birth in cells or ambulances.

The prison reform campaigner Jean Corston said: “To me it seems absolutely counterintuitive to have pregnant women and women giving birth in prison. There aren’t many women who should be in prison at all but certainly not pregnant women. No woman at the end stage of pregnancy should be in a cell.” Read more

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