3 babies born to jailed mothers last year

The Irish Prison Service has confirmed that three babies were born in Irish prisons last year to mothers who had been jailed.

In response to a Freedom of Information request, the Irish Prison Service (IPS) has confirmed that three babies were born to mothers imprisoned at the Dóchas centre in the Mountjoy campus.

Like a plot line right out of the hit Netflix prison drama Orange is the New Black, the three babies born to mothers serving sentences this contrasts with no babies born in 2012.

So far this year no babies have been born to mothers in custody.

According to a spokesman for the Prison Service “there is a considerable level of support available for mothers and babies in the Dóchas Centre”.

He said: “Provisions are made to facilitate new mothers keeping their infants with them in custody so as not to disrupt early bonding.

“Each mother and child are provided with their own single room with en-suite facilities in the mother and baby unit on their return to the Dóchas Centre after giving birth.

He said: “Required items such as a cot, baby food, nappies, etc, are also provided.”

Once the child in each instance reaches 12 months, the baby must then leave the prison, leaving his/her mother behind in accordance with prison rules — this compares to the British system where babies can remain with their mothers until they are 18 months old.

The Dóchas centre, which has the capacity to house 105 female inmates, is the only prison in the country that has facilities for mothers and babies.

According to the Prison Service spokesman, “procedures are in place to ensure the handover [of the baby] is done in as sensitive and as painless a manner as possible”.

He said: “Case conferences are arranged to include the mother, the child’s carer and, if appropriate, the father.

“Arrangements are made for the child to spend time [including overnights] with the carer in advance of the hand over.

“Arrangements are also made for the child to return to the mother”.

As part of the suite of services to mothers who have given birth while in jail, the spokesman said that “counselling is provided to the mother at all stages of the transition”.

“Contact is also made with the social services in the carer’s local area to monitor the care being provided to the child”.

The service’s 2007 prison rules provide the structure for babies to remain with their mothers until they are 12 months of age.

The rules state that a child shall not be removed from the care of his or her mother unless upon the order of a court or the mother of the child consents.

The rules state that before the discharge of a child from a prison, the prison governor shall ascertain in consultation with the child’s mother and the Health Service Executive the appropriate placement for the care of the child.