Is incarceration during pregnancy associated with infant birthweight?

Abstract

This study examined whether incarceration during pregnancy is associated with infant birthweight. Multivariable analyses compared infant birthweight outcomes among three groups of women: 168 women incarcerated during pregnancy, 630 women incarcerated at a time other than during pregnancy, and 3910 women never incarcerated. After confounders were controlled for, infant birthweights among women incarcerated during pregnancy were not significantly different from women never incarcerated; however, infant birthweights were significantly worse among women incarcerated at a time other than during pregnancy than among never-incarcerated women and women incarcerated during pregnancy. Certain aspects of the prison environment (shelter, food, etc.) may be health-promoting for high-risk pregnant women.