amp.theguardian.com/society/2019/oct/04/baby-dies-in-uk-prison-after-inmate-gives-birth-alone-in-cell?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&__twitter_impression=true
Baby dies in UK prison after inmate ‘gives birth alone in cell’
Police investigate unexplained death at Bronzefield women’s prison in Surrey
The case raises serious questions about how the woman came to be unsupervised and without medical support during her labour and birth, and about the conditions at the privately run prison.
And
Bronzefield is Europe’s largest female prison, holding up to 557 inmates, and is operated by Sodexo Justice Services. Concerns have been raised previously about the care of prisoners.
In the case of Natasha Chin, who died at HMP Bronzefield in 2016, an inquest jury found that neglect and systemic failings at the prison had contributed to her death. Four women have died at Bronzefield since July 2016.
There is a mother and baby unit at the prison and women whose babies are born in prison, or who already have a baby when they enter prison, can keep the infants with them until they are 18 months old.
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Jane Ryan, a solicitor at Bhatt Murphy Solicitors who specialises in cases of women in prison, said: “There are serious concerns raised about risk issues arising from lack of access to midwives when labour commences, access to pregnancy records and full maternity care. It is an indictment of our prison system that a woman was giving birth in a prison cell. There must be a full independent investigation, and possibly an inquest, into these horrific circumstances.”
Dr Kate Paradine, the chief executive of the charity Women in Prison, said: “All mothers should have the right to give birth in dignity. But time and time again, we hear of situations where this isn’t happening, with mothers regularly being denied access to the vital health and maternity care necessary to give birth safely. This has devastating consequences not only for the baby and mother, but also for the rest of the family they are separated from.”
Worst bit?
A spokesman for the Prisons & Probation Ombudsman, an independent body which investigates deaths in prisons and detention centres, confirmed that they are not investigating the baby’s death and said it was not part of their remit.
Like WTF?!