Play shines light on heartbreak of jailed mothers

A play based on the experiences of mothers separated from their babies after giving birth in prison "exposes the heartbreak" of otherwise "invisible women", said the academic behind its research.

It was created by the award-winning playwright Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti using fact-finding by the University of Hertfordshire's The Lost Mothers Project.

Lead researcher Dr Laura Abbott said while the play has hopeful moments, "it's emotional, it's raw and it's a powerful dramatisation based on real-life stories".

The play was created in collaboration with women's charity Birth Companions and ex-prisoners theatre company Clean Break.

Four women who have been imprisoned or given birth in prison and are part of the The Lost Mothers' Project team were also involved in its development.

Ms Kaur Bhatti, who also writes for films, TV and radio, said: "Through this play, we shed light on their resilience, their pain, and their hope - stories that are too often silenced within the confines of institutions."

Midwife and associate professor Dr Abbott first began looking into the understudied area of pregnancy in prison when she began her doctorate in 2012.

"The Ministry of Justice didn't even keep figures for the numbers of pregnant women in prison then - we knew nothing about them," she said.

Since then, data has been collected and figures for 2023/2024 showed 53 mothers gave birth while in custody out of 229 inmates.

About 70% of custodial sentences for females were for under 12 months, according to a Conservative government report earlier this year, while 4% of the prison population were women in 2022/2023.

Dr Abbott has visited five of the UK's 12 women's prisons and interviewed imprisoned women, prison officers, midwives and social workers since the three-year project, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, began in 2022.

She described pregnant inmates as "invisible women and when I spoke to mothers separated from their babies, they are even more invisible".

"They all described their experiences in a very raw way and how their heart had been ripped out," she said.

"And it's really difficult for staff to witness such harrowing experiences, especially when it came to separation."

Dr Abbott said watching the play in rehearsal was "very emotional for everybody" and "felt very authentic".

Ms Kaur Bhatti called for "radical change" to the treatment of pregnant inmates, while Dr Abbott said "these women would be better off supported in the community".

"With both the justice and prisons ministers agreeing prisons fail women, the play exposes the heartbreak of mothers separated from their babies, urging compassion, tackling root causes like poverty and trauma, and championing alternatives to imprisonment that truly support women," she said.

The Ministry of Justice said it was "committed to reducing the number of women in prison by increasing support in the community and addressing the specific needs of women in the criminal justice system".

"This is why we are creating a Women's Justice Board (WJB) to focus on tailored solutions for mothers, young women, and pregnant women [in the criminal justice system] to ensure they receive the support they need," a spokesman said.

The WJB will meet for the first time early this year and focus initially on early intervention and community solutions.

Scenes from Lost Mothers will be opening at the university on 6 February before it tours around the country.

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