Female prisoners are brought to my hospital on a regular basis to deliver
their babies. In postpartum, the usual procedure includes a long leg chain
so she can get to the bathroom, and a sheriff stands guard at the door.
Mostly, the rules are set by the state or county penal system with the
cooperation and agreement of hospital mgmt.

She does not get to hold her baby in L&D. Baby leaves L&D almost
immediately after birth & mom does not see her baby any more. That's to
protect baby from potentially becoming a hostage. The baby is under the
supervision of the state and usually is discharged to a relative, or to a
foster home if no relative is available. The only way mom can see her baby
is if the guardian brings baby to the jail / prison to visit mom.

Mom is not allowed to pump with anything mechanical for several reasons:
1) The metal spring can be turned into a weapon.
2) The plastic can be sharpened into a weapon.
3) Can't allow special privileges, time, or attention for one prisoner.
4) Can't / won't provide security or proper storage for the milk.
5) It's HER problem. She lost her rights when she was convicted. It's her
fault her baby can't have her milk. Children always pay the price when mom
is convicted of an illegal activity.

I'm not saying I agree with these rationales. I'm just telling it like it
is in my city / state.

The only thing I CAN do is give her RN a printout on hand expressing to
give to her. Only designated medical staff can go to her bedside. That's
not me.


--- Phyllis Adamson, IBCLC
--- Glendale, AZ, USA
--- [log in to unmask]
--- EarthLink: The #1 provider of the Real Internet.

             ***********************************************

To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]

The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html