Birth outcomes of individuals who have experienced incarceration during pregnancy

Emma Rose Miller-Bedell; Lillian Sie; Suzan L Carmichael; Nana Matoba; Ya'el Weiner; Joseph J Kim; Arash Anoshiravani; Dominika Seidman; Deirdre J Lyell; Henry C Lee

doi:10.1038/s41372-024-02170-4

Birth outcomes of individuals who have experienced incarceration during pregnancy

J Perinatol. 2024 Nov 13. doi: 10.1038/s41372-024-02170-4. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pediatrics, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
² Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
³ Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
⁴ Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
⁵ Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA. henrylee@health.ucsd.edu.

PMID: 39537816
DOI: 10.1038/s41372-024-02170-4

Abstract

Objectives: Describe the prevalence, health, and birth outcomes of incarcerated pregnant individuals in California between 2011 and 2015.

Study design: A population-based cohort study was performed using linked birth certificate and hospital discharge data. Associations between incarceration and birth outcomes were examined, including multivariable logistic regression to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals.

Results: Amongst 1401 incarcerated and 551,029 nonincarcerated pregnant people across 112 delivery hospitals, 33% of incarcerated individuals had late initiation of prenatal care; 2.4% experienced severe maternal morbidity, compared to 18.9% and 1.6% of controls, respectively (p < 0.05). Births to incarcerated individuals had higher adjusted likelihoods of prematurity (OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.21, 1.67), small for gestational age (OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.11, 1.56), and NICU admission (OR 1.64, 95% CI, 1.40, 1.93) relative to controls.

Conclusion: Incarcerated individuals have greater likelihood of negative birth outcomes. Identification of approaches to reduce these harms is warranted.