Um, Can You Use a Vibrator While Pregnant?
There, she took a pregnancy test: positive.
I said to them, You all know that Im pregnant, Winn recounts.
One day, while shackled around her ankles, Winn fell while attempting to get into a van.
Shortly thereafter, Winn noticed spotting.
Even then, they dismissed her concern as a normal occurrence in early pregnancy.
Carolyn Sufrin, MD, PhD, is a medical anthropologist and Ob/Gyn at Johns Hopkins University.
But the ER turned her away because the initial bleeding incident was too old to be considered an emergency.
While waiting another four weeks for approval to see an obstetrician for a follow-up, it was too late.
Often, shackling occurs in hospital and medical parameters because care providers arent clear on legislation.
(She adds that the carceral mindset exists in juvenile detention and immigrant detention facilities as well.)
Movement and walking around can be healthy and helpful with pain management during labor, she points out.
The price that women pay highly exceeds the crime and far exceeds the sentence.
Most of us come back home way worse than when we left, Winn adds.
This practice of shackling happens during the postpartum period, too.
What are potential solutions to end shackling of incarcerated people during reproductive care?
Carolyn Sufrin, MD, PhD, is a medical anthropologist and Ob/Gyn at Johns Hopkins University.
First and foremost, activists are working toward completely revolutionizing the carceral system and abolishing the prison-industrial complex.
Prison abolitionthats the place to start, Dr. Perritt says.
There needs to be a better oversight system for healthcare in prisons and jails.
Right now, there isnt any mandatory system of oversight or required set of health care services and standards.
It passed in late 2018, in part thanks to the work of Pamela Winn.
Even in the 35 states that have laws against shackling during birth, it still happens all the time.
Even in the 35 states that have laws against shackling during birth, it still happens all the time.
Dr. Carolyn Sufrin
A long-term solution would be not incarcerating people who are pregnant, adds Dr. Sufrin.
Legislation likeMinnesotas Healthy Start Actserves as a model for what this could look like.
Fueled by each hint of progress against shackling during prenatal and postnatal care, reproductive justice activists press on.
Just give us the support that we need, and let us lead.
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