Nevada gets F in treatment of pregnant inmates

The state received a failing grade for its treatment of inmate mothers and pregnant women in a new report issued Thursday, but a spokeswoman for the Nevada Department of Corrections took exception to the findings, and the report itself suggested at least some of the criticism was based not on state practices but the lack of a written policy.

The 50-state survey released by the National Women's Law Center and the Rebecca Project for Human Rights analyzed state and federal prison policies on three criteria: prenatal care, use of shackles, and alternatives to incarceration for pregnant women and mothers with young children. Nevada received an overall grade of F and was among 21 states to receive a grade of D or lower.

Only one state, Pennsylvania, received an A.

Nevada received a failing grade for prenatal care and lack of family-based treatment programs for nonviolent inmates who are mothers, and a D for use of restraints on pregnant women.

"Too many women in prison fail to receive adequate prenatal care, are shackled during childbirth and don't have the option of family based drug treatment programs that would allow them to be with their children," Jill C. Morrison, senior counsel with the National Women's Law Center and co-author of the study, said in a written statement.

"It's shameful that so many states fail to have laws and policies to protect this vulnerable population of unseen and largely forgotten women," she said.

Suzanne Pardee, spokeswoman for the Nevada Department of Corrections, said prenatal care is provided as soon as an inmate's pregnancy becomes known.

Nevada currently has 916 female inmates. There were 24 pregnant inmates in 2009, and 25 so far this year, she said.

Pardee said an obstetrician-gynecologist holds weekly clinics at the women's correctional center.

"He and his team do prenatal care, deliveries, gynecological surgeries when indicated and refer high risk pregnancies to a perinatologist when necessary.

"He has been with us for several years, loves working with our patients, and we have had no grievances or complaints about this service," Pardee said.

She added that parenting classes also are offered.

Pardee said all inmates are restrained during transporting based on security levels, but leg restraints are not used on pregnant women. "The attending physician has the ability to remove restraints due to medical issues or concerns," she added.

The report tied Nevada's failing grade in part to not having an official written policy on the use of restraints, but it praised other aspects of the state's program.

"It should be noted that reporting is done by the minute in Nevada prisons, there is gender-specific training for transportation, and pregnant women are not housed in the general population," the report said. "Once it is determined that a woman is pregnant, she is then housed in the infirmary under the supervision of doctors and nurses. It is this aspect that should be modeled in other states. Nonetheless, it is suggested that Nevada adopt an official policy."