Executive Summary of Doctoral Research Motherhood Challenged: Exploring the persisting impact of maternal imprisonment on maternal identity and role

The full text of the PhD can be found at: https://dora.dmu.ac.uk/handle/2086/20813This summary, taken from the Doctoral research of the author, extracts the key recommendations and findings from the original research. The report focus is on the Mothers' voices and the way forward. The report centers on the descriptions of the 43 mothers who contributed to the study, and who through letters and interviews revealed the significant impact of maternal imprisonment. The report reveals the missed and lost opportunities to support mothers and motherhood before, during, and after prison. The mothers powerfully describe their pain and challenges through their criminal justice journeys and beyond. Many mothers and grandmothers describe how they and their children and grandchildren continue to be deeply affected by maternal imprisonment, sometimes even decades post-release. The mothers reveal how their maternal identity, their maternal emotions, and their maternal experiences intertwine with their experiences of the criminal justice system and how ultimately this has relevance to their rehabilitation and desistance. The report concludes with recommendations for policy and practice change that if implemented would make a significant difference in the lives of criminalised mothers and their children