Episode 370

Her Story:

Martha Paynter is a staff nurse at the IWK Health Centre Family Newborn Care Unit and the Nova Scotia Women’s Choices (Abortion) Clinic. She is a PhD Candidate in Nursing at Dalhousie University. In 2012, she founded Women’s Wellness Within (WWW), a registered non-profit organization that provides support, education and advocacy with criminalized women who are pregnant or parenting young children in Nova Scotia. For nearly ten years, she chaired the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) Halifax branch. She became a nurse to advance practice, policy and research that addresses social (in)justice and protects reproductive rights.

I first became aware of Martha when I read an article she wrote ( co-authored)  for the International Breastfeeding Journal that was published on April 17th, 2019  It is titled: “Breastfeeding in public” for incarcerated women:  the baby-friendly steps

The rate of incarceration in Canada is approximately 136 prisoners per 100,000 people, far lower than the rate in the United States at 860 prisoners per 100,000. However, the number of women in federal corrections in Canada is growing, increasing 66% between 2005 and 2014. Most incarcerated women are mothers and it is estimated 5% of incarcerated women are currently pregnant . The incarceration of women disrupts family formation and reproduction. Although the perinatal outcomes of incarcerated women and their infants have been the subject of several international systematic reviews, these reviews include few studies that have examined breastfeeding outcomes among incarcerated women.

Learning that most incarcerated women are mothers and 5% are currently pregnant raised some important concerns and questions in my mind. How does being in prison affect their birth and breastfeeding? Is anything being done to encourage and enable mom and baby bonding? I would like to welcome Martha Paynter to the All About Breastfeeding show so we can explore these and other fascinating topics she has written about in her article – Breastfeeding in public – for incarcerated women: the baby friendly steps.

Martha begins our interview by telling us how she started working with the female prison population and how her initial work evolved into the education and advocacy work that she is currently active in.

Martha shares the story of a mom,named Julie, who gives birth alone in solitary confinement.  Her baby is taken away from her, she does not see him for 3 weeks. Her baby boy is removed from her custody and is not provided with a kinship custody connection and is fostered by a white family. Julie does a lot of work trying to get custody.  Just as she is about to  13 months later. her son is found dead in his crib.

Martha tells us about the Bangkok rules to address the specific issues related to being female and being incarcerated.

On 22 December 2010, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution to adopt the Bangkok Rules, which encouraged member states “to adopt legislation to establish alternatives to imprisonment and to give priority to the financing of such systems, as well as to the development of the mechanisms needed for their implementation.”

Historically, prisons and prison regimes have almost invariably been designed for the majority male prison population—from the architecture of prisons, to security procedures, to healthcare, family contact, work and training. The Bangkok Rules give guidance to policy makers, legislators, sentencing authorities and prison staff to reduce the imprisonment of women, and to meet the specific needs of women in case of imprisonment. The rules cover a variety of issues, including admission procedures, healthcare, humane treatment, search procedures, children who accompany their mothers into prison.

I invite you to listen to the complete interview where you access right here.

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