Construction of infant nursery for incarcerated expectant mothers nearing completion

Work on the construction of an infant nursery for incarcerated expectant mothers who give birth while in custody is nearing completion.

The facility, which is the brainchild of State Minister in the Ministry of National Security, Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn, is being developed at the South Camp Adult Correctional Centre in Kingston at a cost of $13 million.

Cuthbert-Flynn said that construction, which commenced in May, is approximately 98 per cent complete, adding that, “we are set to open by mid-September”.

She said the need for a nursery came to her attention when she visited the correctional facility.

“There was a mother, at the time when I visited, with a newborn baby lying on the small cot that she was sharing with her infant, and I thought, 'this baby was in the same place with the other inmates'. I didn't think that would be good, when we talk about rehabilitation,” she said.

With that experience firmly etched in her mind, the state minister researched what provisions obtain in other jurisdictions where expectant mothers are incarcerated, hence the nursery's birth.

“I decided that we should have a nursery for these mothers. When I investigated, we recognised that there were at least two mothers per year who would enter the facilities pregnant and give birth while they're incarcerated, whether they're waiting to be charged or not… but they end up being in State care and end up giving birth,” she said.

Cuthbert-Flynn, herself a mother, further advised, “This nursery is going to be outfitted with everything – a crib, the changing table, diaper pails, beds for the mother and, of course, rocking chairs so that the mother can breastfeed, because we encourage that.”

Consequent on these provisions, she indicated that “we… should be opening this facility to at least three mothers at a time”.

The state minister is optimistic that the nursery “is going to be a game changer”, adding that by keeping the mother and child in a secure and appropriate space after birth, “I'm sure… will be able to help with the bonding for mommy and baby… [particularly with breastfeeding, which] “we encourage… as it is good bonding”.

“The policy of the Government is for the mother to keep a child while incarcerated for at least six months. So why not have a nursery to make sure that if we're going to keep the baby for six months, that they are properly cared for,” she declared, adding that “the mother can be a better person, once she's released from the correctional facility.”

Cuthbert-Flynn, who noted Jamaica's 40 per cent recidivism rate, expressed the hope that the nursery will serve as a tool that would be pivotal in further reducing this figure.

“Once you show that kind of care, I think they will be better people when they come out, and I think the recidivism rate will be lower for those mothers who get that kind of care. Even for the mothers who do not have babies in it, they will see that the State really cares [and say to themselves] 'maybe, I should do better and not end up back in here',” Cuthbert-Flynn stated.

In early 2017, female inmates were relocated from the aging Fort Augusta Correctional Centre for Women in St Catherine to the South Camp Adult Correctional Centre. 

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