Incarcerated pregnant women and substance use a conversation with Thomas P. LeBel, PhD

Some women experience the trifecta of being pregnant, having a substance use disorder problem, and being incarcerated. Similar to other incarcerated women, pregnant women experience physical and mental health challenges, but these are compounded because they often come into jail with generally poorer health status, limited or no pre-natal care, and chronic poor nutrition (Swavola et al., 2016). While many incarcerated women have histories of trauma and substance use before their incarceration, one study reported that over 60% of incarcerated pregnant women had histories of family violence before age 18, and close to half had used drugs and alcohol during the past year as well as during their pregnancy (Fogel & Belyea, 2001). Some correctional facilities are willing to offer medication assisted treatment (MAT) during a pregnancy but not after the birth of the child (Sufrin et al., 2020), and few jail facilities offer gender responsive services during pregnancy or post-partum services after delivery. The needs of incarcerated pregnant women continue through their incarceration and as they reenter the community upon their release. Recently released pregnant women with substance use problems, need to quickly find prenatal care and plan for delivery, housing, and the initiation or continuation of treatment for substance use and other mental health conditions. Today we talk with Dr. Thomas LeBel, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology at the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare at the University of WisconsinMilwaukee, who has focused a significant portion of his research on issues of reentry. In addition, Dr. LeBel and I have conducted a number of different studies in a large Midwestern jail with women, most of whom had substance use issues, some of whom were mothers and some of whom were pregnant.