This statistical brief presents findings on maternal healthcare and pregnancy prevalence and outcomes for persons in the custody of state or federal correctional authorities in the United States. It reports statistics on pregnancy testing and positive tests among female admissions; pregnancy prevalence and outcomes by type; pregnancy-related training for staff, emergency transportation protocols, and medical services; special accommodations and support services for pregnant and postpartum women; and provision of and participation in nursery or residential programs in which mothers reside with their children.
Findings in this report are based on data from the maternal health supplement to BJS’s annual National Prisoner Statistics collection (NPS-MatHealth), which was administered for the first time in 2024. NPS-MatHealth collected 2023 data on maternal health in correctional settings from the departments of corrections of the 50 states and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
- In the 47 jurisdictions that reported pregnancy testing data, 88% of female admissions were tested for pregnancy during 2023.
- Sixty percent of pregnant women in the custody of state and federal correctional authorities were white, 20% were black, 9% were Hispanic, 4% were American Indian or Alaska Native, and 2% were Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Other Pacific Islander.
- Between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2023, 727 pregnancy outcomes—including live births, miscarriages, and abortions—were reported in 49 jurisdictions.
- All 51 jurisdictions reported having the infrastructure to care for pregnant women either by means of an on-site infirmary or 24/7 or on-call care, and all had a transportation plan in the event of a pregnancy emergency or labor.