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I spent the final three months of my pregnancy in an environment that’s unsafe for any woman, let alone a pregnant woman. Healthcare is scarce, I barely ate because the junk food made me sick, and I missed several midwife appointments due to staff shortages. I had to take vitamin D supplements because I was too scared to leave my cell and go outside in the yard for sunlight and air, in case a fight broke out and anything happened to my baby.
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The day I went into labour was the most traumatic day of my life. My contractions started at 5:30am and I pressed the cell buzzer to call for urgent help. I was told that someone was coming. As the contractions took hold, I called again, and again, but nobody came for two hours. I was terrified I would give birth to my baby on the cell floor.
The guards finally unlocked my cell at 7:30am, which is the same time they unlock everyone’s cells for the day. I was told that a nurse would come and assess whether I was in labour. I had to wait for another two hours for the nurse to arrive and confirm I was in labour. My baby was on the way and nobody saw it as urgent. An ambulance was called, and I was patted down and then handcuffed to an officer before finally being driven to the hospital. According to prison policy, women shouldn’t be cuffed in labour, but when I said this, I was told to be grateful I was in long cuffs and not short ones.
My labour was a long and traumatic experience. On the way to the hospital, I was begging for my mum and my son’s father to be called but guards ignored me. In hospital, I was screaming in agony, giving birth for the first time, as two prison guards sat in the tiny hospital bay and watched. Eventually a doctor, who was disgusted by the guards’ behaviour, called my mum, and thankfully she made it in time.
Continues: www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/mar/28/birth-british-prison-no-woman-handcuffed-labour
There you go. Handcuffing in labour is still happening.