ABSTRACT
Study Objective
To describe the number of admissions of pregnant adolescents to US juvenile residential
systems (JRS) and the outcomes of pregnancies that ended while in custody.
Design
Prospective study.
Setting
Three nonrandomly selected JRS in 3 US states.
Participants
Designated reporter at each JRS reporting aggregate data on various pregnant admissions,
outcomes, and systems’ policies.
Interventions
None.
Main Outcome Measures
Monthly number of pregnant people admitted, pregnant people at the end of the month,
births, preterm births, cesarean deliveries, miscarriages, induced abortions, ectopic
pregnancies, maternal and newborn deaths, and administrative policies.
Results
There were 71 admissions of pregnant adolescents reported over 12 months from participating
JRS. At the time of the census, 6 of the 183 female adolescents (3.3%) were pregnant.
Eight pregnancies ended while in custody. Of these, 1 pregnancy was a live full-term
birth, 4 were miscarriages, and 3 were induced abortions. There were no newborn deaths
or maternal deaths. Administrative policies and services varied among the JRS. For
example, all JRS had a prenatal care provider on-site, whereas 2 JRS helped cover
the costs of abortions.
Conclusion
To our knowledge, this study is the first to report the estimates of pregnancy and
pregnancy outcomes among justice-involved youth in JRS. Our findings indicate that
there are pregnant adolescents in JRS and most return to their communities while pregnant,
highlighting the importance of continuity of care. More work is needed to understand
the complexities of health care needs of justice-involved pregnant youth during and
after their incarceration.
Key Words
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent GynecologyAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Girls in the Juvenile Justice System. NCJ 251486. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice.2019
- A national overview of reproductive health care services for girls in juvenile justice residential facilities.Womens Health Issues. 2007; 17: 217
- Tough choices: exploring decision-making for pregnancy intentions and prevention among girls in the justice system.J Correct Health Care. 2019; 25: 351
- Pregnant teens in prison. Prevalence, management, and consequences.West J Med. 1995; 162: 328
- Youth's Characteristics and Backgrounds.Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice, 2010
- Juvenile delinquency and teenage pregnancy: a comparison of ecological risk profiles among midwestern white and black female juvenile offenders.Psychol Women Q. 2011; 35: 282
- Factors associated with pregnancy among incarcerated African American adolescent girls.J Urban Health. 2016; 93: 709
OJJDP. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention: Statistical Briefing Book. Juveniles in corrections. Demographics. Available: https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/corrections/qa08209.asp?qaDate=2017. Accessed July 6, 2020
- Pregnancy outcomes in US Prisons, 2016-2017.Am J Public Health. 2019; 109: 799
- Pregnancy prevalence and outcomes in U.S. jails.Obstet Gynecol. 2020; 135: 1177
OJJDP. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention: Statistical Briefing Book. Juveniles in corrections. Facility characteristics. Available: https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/corrections/qa08504.asp?qaDate=2017. Accessed July 7, 2020
- Easy Access to the Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement, 1997-2017.2019 (Accessed February 17, 2021)
- Pregnancies, births and abortions among adolescents and young women in the United States.2013 (national and state trends by age, race and ethnicity. Available:) (Accessed February 8, 2021)
- The association between psychological stress and miscarriage: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Sci Rep. 2017; 7: 1731
- Reproductive health care and family planning needs among incarcerated women.Am J Public Health. 2006; 96: 834
- Abortion access for incarcerated women: are correctional health practices in conflict with constitutional standards.Perspect Sex Reprod Health. 2009; 41: 59
OJJDP. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention: Statistical Briefing Book. Juveniles in corrections. Time in placement. Avaialble: https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/corrections/qa08402.asp?qaDate=2017. Accessed July 5, 2020
- Time Served in State Prison, 2016. NCJ 252205.Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, 2018
- Lack of health insurance among juvenile offenders: a predictor of inappropriate healthcare use and reincarceration?.Public Health. 2019; 166: 25
- Early violent death among delinquent youth: a prospective longitudinal study.Pediatrics. 2005; 115: 1586
- Community-based service requests and utilization among pregnant women incarcerated in jail.Psychol Serv. 2020; 17: 393
- Collaborations between the Juvenile Justice System and Home Visiting Programs.Boston College Law School, Boston, MA2018
- Jailcare: Finding the Safety Net for Women behind Bars.University of California Press, Oakland, CA2017
- Can juvenile justice detention facilities meet the call of the American Academy of Pediatrics and National Commission on Correctional Health Care? A national analysis of current practices.Pediatrics. 2007; 119: e991
National Commission on Correctional Health Care: Standards for Health Services in Juvenile Detention and Confinement Facilities. Chicago, IL, 2015
- Intention and initiation of breastfeeding among women who are incarcerated.Nurs Womens Health. 2018; 22: 64
- Principles for maintaining or increasing breast milk production.J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2012; 41: 114
- The prevalence of adverse childhood experiences (ACE) in the lives of juvenile offenders.OJJDP Journal of Juvenile Justice. 2014; 3: 1
- Racial differences in the associations of neighborhood disadvantage, exposure to violence, and criminal recidivism among female juvenile offenders.Behav Sci Law. 2009; 27: 531
- Racial and ethnic disparities in girls’ sentencing in the juvenile justice system.Fem Criminol. 2010; 5: 263
- Racial and ethnic disparities in maternal morbidity and mortality.Obstet Gynecol. 2015; 125: 690
- Key facts: Youth in the justice system. 2016 (Available: http://cfyj.org/images/factsheets/KeyYouthCrimeFactsJune72016final.pdfAccessed February 17, 2021)
- Committee on Adolescence: Health care for youth in the juvenile justice system.Pediatrics. 2011; 128: 1219
Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 20, 2021
Accepted:
January 9,
2021
Received in revised form:
January 6,
2021
Received:
October 28,
2020
Footnotes
Dr Sufrin is an ex-officio member of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Committee on Health Care for Underserved Women, serving as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists liaison to the board of the National Commission on Correctional Health Care; in this role, she reports receiving reimbursement for travel. M.C.J. is supported by the H. Richard Nesson Fellowship through the Center for Community Health and Health Equity at Brigham and Women's Hospital. The remaining authors indicate no conflicts of interest.
Identification
Copyright
© 2021 North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
