Incarceration during pregnancy and its effects on mothers and newborn survival
Maternal and Infant Mortality among Women Incarcerated During the Perinatal Period: Understanding the Impact of Healthcare and Correctional System Factors
The project compares deaths and causes among pregnant and postpartum women who were incarcerated and their babies to find ways to improve care.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Johns Hopkins University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Baltimore, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11300236 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
This project will use linked public health and correctional records, birth and death certificates, and other data to measure how often pregnant or recently released women and their infants die and what causes those deaths. Researchers will focus on incarceration that happened during pregnancy or within one year after birth and will compare outcomes to women who were not incarcerated. They will look at differences by race and region and examine how gaps in correctional and public health care may contribute to deaths. The goal is to identify specific points where policy or clinical changes could reduce stillbirths, pregnancy-associated deaths, and infant mortality.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: This work is most relevant to people who were pregnant or within one year after delivery and were incarcerated in jail or prison during that time, and to their infants and families.
Not a fit: People whose pregnancies and postpartum periods did not involve incarceration are less likely to see direct benefits from these findings.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could guide policy and healthcare changes to reduce deaths among incarcerated mothers and their infants.
How similar studies have performed: This approach is largely novel, because prior research has not provided population-based estimates of maternal and infant deaths linked specifically to incarceration during pregnancy.
Where this research is happening
Baltimore, United States
- Johns Hopkins University — Baltimore, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Sufrin, Carolyn — Johns Hopkins University
- Study coordinator: Sufrin, Carolyn
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.