Maternal and Infant Outcomes in Pregnant Women Exposed to Incarceration: An Integrative Review of the Literature

Exposure to incarceration through a partner or first-hand experience can lead to a higher probability of negative outcomes on either infant or maternal well-being postpartum. This can be measured by length of pregnancy, infant birth weight, and maternal depression screening. The purpose of this literature review was to identify the impact of incarceration on maternal and infant outcomes for women exposed to incarceration at some point during the length of their pregnancy. A comprehensive review of the literature using peer reviewed research articles from multiple databases on maternal and infant outcome disparities in pregnant incarcerated women. Seventeen articles met the inclusion criteria and focused on the research question. Of the 17 studies, 12 showed a negative impact on either infant or maternal outcomes. Four studies were inconclusive. One study found no negative impact of exposure to incarceration on either maternal or infant outcomes. Exposure to incarceration does provide some negative effects on infant/maternal outcomes, at this time, the effects are under researched and require further investigation to determine if this risk factor is more strongly correlated with negative outcomes when compared to other similar life-stress events