The mental health and treatment needs of imprisoned mothers of young children

Abstract

The aims of the study were to determine the nature and prevalence of mental disorders, the mental health treatment needs, the extent to which these needs are identified by prison health services and the care provided to women in prison who had children under the age of 18 months. We compared our findings with those of our study of women in prison mother and baby units. A survey of 112 mothers in seven prisons was conducted; a standardised semi-structured interview was administered, participants inmate medical records examined and information obtained from participants general practice records. One-third of the participants were from ethnic minorities and a majority were serving sentences for dishonesty-related offences. Ninety percent of the women had one or more of the five specific forms of mental disorder and 42% were depressed. The majority of inmate medical records contained very little information about participants' mental health and treatment needs.

Keywords:

• prisoners
• motherhood
• mental disorder

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Prison Service Women's Policy Unit and the participants and the staff at the seven prisons where the study was conducted. The research upon which this publication is based has been supported by funding from the National Programme on Forensic Mental Health R & D. However, the views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Programme or the Department of Health.