This book was interesting and also heartbreaking. It truly proves that we need serious reform in our prisons in America.

This was an eye opening book to read. To read about Wharton women endure during birthing a child is anmazing. Giving birth behind bars adds to this. This book is a must read. It will give one pause and think. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest opinion. Receiving the book in this manner has no bearing on my thoughts.

Thank you to Rebecca Rodriguez Carey and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book. All opinions are my own.

As a mother of seven this was a very powerful yet difficult read. I can't imagine giving birth in conditions like this. The story being told here is powerful and needs to be told louder and more widespread. I can't say I know what the perfect solution is but it definitely sparked something in me to see these conditions changed for both the women and their children.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in advance.

I’m not sure how I feel about this book. I definitely went into in with preconceived notions. There were alot of opinions in it but also a lot of information. I’ve read it most ago and I’m still trying to process my views on it. Thanks for such a thought provoking book.

Birth Behind Bars: The Carceral Control of Pregnant Women in Prison by Rebecca Rodriguez Carey
Publication Date: June 17/25

Prisons do not disappear social problems, they disappear human beings.
Angela Davis

An eye-opening and well researched examination of the experiences of women who give birth while imprisoned. Grounded in personal interviews, and supported by extensive research this book sheds light on the dehumanizing realities of prison life, realities that are intensified for pregnant women.

It explores how the prison system, in conjunction with the medical and child welfare institutions imposed layers of surveillance and control resulting in a constant state of insecurity that threatens the well being of mothers and children.

The book is structured around the phases of this journey - pre incarceration, pregnancy & incarceration, childbirth, separation from their baby, and release. Through this framework, it reveals the systemic forces of poverty, racism and social marginalization that shape these women’s lives before, during and after prison.

While the book is academic in tone - which may not appeal to all readers - it is a vital resource for anyone interested in the intersectionality of gender, incarceration, healthcare, social services and social justice. I would have loved to have the voices of the women even more amplified.

This book will open your eyes to injustices you did not know existed. It is an essential read for anyone interested in reproductive justice and the criminal legal system.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book! Below is my honest review.

This book sheds light on one of the most vulnerable people in the world: pregnant women in prison. None of this information shocked me, per say, but it does make me incredibly frustrated that prisoners, not just pregnant women, are treated in such an inhumane way. This is certainly a call for action. I hope people read this and become more sympathetic. Anyone interested in social justice or healthcare should read this!

Pregnancy is one of the most vulnerable moments of a woman's life, and women are already at a disadvantage in the U.S. today, with laws in many states that protect only the fetus at the expense of the mother's life. Despite research into women's health, fertility, pregnancy, and the laws around it, I had never read much on women who give birth while incarcerated. This book is incredibly important, and Rodriguez Carey does an excellent job presenting her research, demonstrating how the prison system works in tangent with other systems, like medical health and welfare. I recommend this for anyone who works in healthcare or social services, and in general to anyone who wants to educate themselves on an important but rarely discussed issue in the U.S.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this eARC in exchange for an honesty review.

This is an important, informative book that is well worth checking out!

Birth Behind Bars introduces the model of the maternal web of control, a framework explaining how various systems work together and overlap to control and subjugate pregnant and parenting women and punish both women and their families. The author, Rebecca M. Rodriguez Carey, is an assistant professor of Sociology and Criminology at Emporia State University. A native of Kansas, Carey focuses in on pregnant women in rural prisons, a choice that made me connect with this book on an even deeper level due to my own rural background.

This book hooked me from the start, drawing me in with women's personal stories and sharing details that stunned me, even with my prior knowledge of the prison industrial complex. Carey identifies an astonishing gap in the data, sharing that there is little to no information collected about pregnant women in prisons. Birth Behind Bars is an incredible step toward raising awareness of the experiences of incarcerated women - most of which are deeply traumatic. This is a must read for anyone engaging in work around abolition and prison reform.

While I think this is beyond the scope of Carey's book, I often found myself wondering about the experiences of women in US immigration detention centers. I would love to see further research into this area and more information about how individuals can support pregnant women who are being detained and deported.

Thank you to NYU Press for providing me with an eARC of this book. Birth Behind Bars releases on June 17, 2025.

DNF @ 25%

I was so excited going into this thinking it would feature experiences from different women. Instead, we got a whole lot of opinions sprinkled with just enough input from a woman or two to support the author's view.

As another reviewer stated, it's more like the author wrote this as reading material for her college class.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a really interesting look at a topic that I think is underexplored - the number of women who give birth each year in US prisons and how the experience impacts them. The author has done a number of interviews with women who have had this experience and she explores how our attitudes towards pregnancy and pregnant women -- combined with the additional layers of disdain or disregard for people in prison -- determine the material reality for women in this situation. The author is an academic and that does come through in the writing - some reviewers didn't care for that, but I didn't find it to be a difficult read. I received a copy of this via NetGalley.

First I would like to thank the publisher for giving me an early copy of this book to review! Birth Behind Bars is exactly what you think it is. It explores just about every avenue of having babies behind bars. It was so interesting to read what happens and how these women are treated. The only thing I did not like was how it kinda seemed like I was reading a research paper. But I could get past that!

Buckle up y’all
I was so excited to receive this book for an early review from the publisher. I thought it was about something I really enjoy, pregnancy and birth. As a birth worker I am constantly trying to read and learn more to benefit the care I provide. However within the first 40 pages of the “introduction” I realized that instead of this book being about the actual stories of the women who were pregnant behind bars, it was an academic paper heavily littered with the authors opinion on things like abortion, prison, religion, politics, and the healthcare system. This alone wouldn’t be a major problem except the opinions are so dangerous and rooted in falsehoods. The author generalized pregnancy in the U.S. as an awful experience. Stating that all women experience birth trauma within the healthcare provided. Stating their autonomy is stripped from them. Even going as far as using medical terminology that is made up (cesarean check). The author delivers a dangerous fear mongering style for any women who read this that plan on becoming pregnant. She also in the first chapter illustrates that prison as a choice is just an “idea” and “stigma.” And later on stating that the healthcare system incarcerates pregnant women by doing routine blood pressure checks and fetal ultrasounds and that these numbers will be used against them later. Also false. These numbers are used to find women who are high risk that might otherwise be missed leading to maternal mortality. While she addresses the difference between black and white maternal deaths, this gap would be even wider if routine prenatal care was not a standard. She also describes sex work and drug trafficking as characteristics of “devout” Christianity. Add in that this book is listed at $89 on targets website and I conclude that the author wrote her own textbook to use in the classes she teaches.

Birth Behind Bars by Rebecca M. Rodriguez Carey is a powerful, thought-provoking exploration of the intersection between pregnancy, motherhood, and incarceration. The book sheds light on a side of the justice system that is often overlooked—how women in prison navigate the challenges of pregnancy, childbirth, and raising children within the confines of a correctional facility.

Carey’s writing is both empathetic and informative, providing a deeply human look at the experiences of incarcerated women. Through the lens of these women’s stories, the book paints a vivid picture of the emotional and physical struggles they face, while also highlighting the resilience, strength, and bond they share with their children. Carey’s ability to capture the nuances of these women’s lives, from the trauma of their past to their hopes for the future, makes the narrative compelling and difficult to put down.

One of the standout elements of Birth Behind Bars is the way it humanizes women who are often seen as “criminals” by society, offering a broader perspective on the complexities of their lives and the systemic issues they face. The book is full of personal stories and interviews that provide invaluable insight into the realities of giving birth in prison, including the lack of adequate healthcare, emotional support, and the challenge of maintaining a connection with children after birth.

While the book is deeply emotional and eye-opening, it is also a call to action. Carey urges readers to rethink their views on the criminal justice system, especially when it comes to women and motherhood. She explores the need for reform and the importance of providing better care and resources for incarcerated women, particularly those who are pregnant or giving birth.

Overall, Birth Behind Bars is a moving and enlightening read that brings attention to a critical issue often ignored by mainstream discourse. It’s a poignant reminder of the need for empathy, reform, and a more compassionate approach to incarceration. Anyone interested in social justice, criminal reform, or the experiences of women in prison will find this book both enlightening and impactful.

This is a very informative book that is true to its title. This book feels like a thorough analysis of the treatment of pregnant women in prison throughout their pregnancies and births. We follow a few women in this book with powerful stories, but the writing is bogged down with technical research paper style writing that is often repetitive. An important book but not an easy read.

3.5 stars

I was already interested in the topic even before I got the book, so I'm really grateful to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read a preview. But I'll be honest: the opinion I'm reporting is based on my own reading experience.

I have to say, this book is extremely well structured. It's an essay that's clearly and logically constructed. The topic is really well explored, and it's not a pretty picture. It's pretty shocking how pregnant women are treated in prisons and how childbirth is handled in these facilities. Bringing back the past of some of the main characters really makes the experience feel more real and makes the reader feel more empathy. I also found the research to be interesting and well organized.

But I was disappointed that the essay doesn't really address the shortcomings of the prison system when it comes to pregnant and postpartum inmates. It's more of a dissertation, and it might be off-putting for some readers. To be honest, the text is a bit hard to follow at first because it's written in a way that's more like a dissertation than something easy for the average reader to understand.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I would've liked to have known about it earlier so I could've approached the reading better. Maybe it would've been good to point it out in the intro and explain the type of content that was going to be read. Either way, it's an interesting read. I recommend it because, no matter what the topic is, it's a thought-provoking text about how we run our society and what improvements we might need.

PLEASE NOTE: A fully completed review will ben published on my blog (https://medium.com/@inabookhole) on June 19 and on my social (Instagram and Reddit).

This was a very interesting read on the effects and treatment of pregnant women incarcerated. I for the most part found it very informative my only critique is it read like a research paper. i initially found it hard to get into but once we got to the different women and their stories it was much easier to read.

I really liked this book. It was so interesting to read about the issues incarcerated women have to deal with, and how inhumanely they are treated. It is eye opening, heartbreaking, and just plain sad. I think it is important for people to be more aware of these issues

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

As someone with a Sociology degree, I was drawn towards the title of the book and its subject matter. Although I enjoyed reading about the numerous women in the book, their background stories, their experiences being pregnant in jail and how it is to give birth while incarcerated. It reads more like a dissertation not a standard non fiction book. There is so much context having to be prefaced first that the actual story doesn’t even start until page 43. It is my opinion that it would have been better if it read like a book, with each woman having their own chapter.

*Birth Behind Bars* by Rebecca Rodriguez Carey is a poignant and thought-provoking exploration of the intersection between pregnancy, incarceration, and the justice system. In this book, Carey shares the stories of women who have given birth while incarcerated, shedding light on the often-overlooked realities faced by these women. Through her research and interviews, she examines the psychological, emotional, and physical tolls that incarceration during pregnancy takes on both mothers and their children.

The book provides a critical look at the policies surrounding reproductive health and maternal care within prisons, emphasizing how systemic inequalities impact the ability of incarcerated women to access proper prenatal and postnatal care. It also touches on the broader societal issues, such as the criminalization of motherhood, racial disparities, and the cycle of trauma that many of these women experience.

Carey’s writing is compassionate yet unflinching, offering a balanced combination of personal stories, statistical data, and analysis of the institutional practices that contribute to the mistreatment of pregnant women in prison. Her work not only highlights the profound injustices of the penal system but also underscores the need for reform, particularly in terms of how incarcerated women are treated during pregnancy and childbirth.

*Birth Behind Bars* is a powerful call to action, urging readers to reconsider the human rights of incarcerated individuals and to advocate for systemic changes that prioritize health and dignity over punishment. It is an essential read for anyone interested in criminal justice, reproductive rights, and social justice, offering a deep dive into a crucial issue that is often ignored or misunderstood.