British Columbia Prison Mothers Separated from their Babies

Elisabeth Sterken
INFACT Canada

British Columbia Corrections has cancelled the mother-baby program at its Alouette Correctional facility in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, the only all-woman prison in the province. For the last four years, incarcerated women who had small children were permitted to care for and breastfeed their babies while in prison. The program was being operated on an experimental basis, and corrections officials, including the new warden Lisa Anderson, decided to terminate it this summer, citing safety concerns for the infants.

Five current and former inmates of the prison have filed a writ with the British Columbia Supreme Court to reinstate the program. Since 2004, 12 mothers cared for their babies in the facility, with nothing but positive impact reported for all concerned. At least one former inmate has told the media that finding out she was pregnant in prison was the biggest factor in her decision to give up drugs, as the chance to keep her baby encouraged her to live a clean life. It also gave encouragement to other women in the prison who had children on the outside. Most important, arrangements were made for the child to be breastfed throughout her mother's incarceration, allowing her to receive the important benefits of breastmilk during her first few months of life.

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, British Columbia's representative for children and youth, condemned the decision to cancel the program. In a letter published in the Vancouver Sun, Turpel-Lafond wrote, "A child's right to be breastfed and the acknowledged health benefits shouldn't be curtailed because of the imprisonment of the mother. In the early years, the baby has an intense need to be with his or her mother, which is as basic as the need for nourishment."

The decision to separate incarcerated mothers from their young children disproportionally affects aboriginals, who make up one-third of all women in British Columbia prisons. Many aboriginal communities in British Columbia are very remote, and thus the termination of the mother-baby program makes it extremely difficult for aboriginal mothers to have contact with children who may be staying with other family members.

The cancellation of the program represents a violation of infants' right to the highest attainable standard of health and well-being. Please write to the Honorable John Van Dongen, Minister of Public Safety, asking him to make sure the program is reinstated. Write your own letter or copy INFACT Canada's below.

Contact: John Van Dongen, Minister of Public Safety
john.vandongen.mla@leg.bc.ca

Hon John Van Dongen,
I am writing to you because I am extremely concerned about the cancellation of the mother-baby program at Allouette correctional facility. I believe that this program was vital to the health of babies born to incarcerated mothers, and had many benefits for the inmates themselves.

The greatest issue here is what's best for the health and well-being of the child. A vast body of medical evidence shows that breastfeeding is the most important single health intervention for babies, and non-breastfed babies are at greater risk for serious health problems later in life such as cancer, heart disease, obesity, allergies, and diabetes. Babies have a right to the highest attainable standard of health.

This right is enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 24.1), which Canada has endorsed. This includes the right to be breastfed, as breastmilk has been proven to provide infants with unmatched health benefits which simply cannot be replicated by artificial foods such as infant formula. The World Health Organization has recommended that all infants be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life, and continue to receive breastmilk for two years or more. For the state to separate mother and baby violates the child's right to be as healthy as possible. A child cannot be denied this right on the basis of her mother's criminal actions.

While the officials who cancelled the program cited safety concerns for the infant, since 2004, 12 babies have been cared for at Alouette without incident. Mother-baby pairs who are in the program are placed in a separate unit of the prison and receive special care. Surely the benefits of breastfeeding and the opportunity for the babies to form a close physical bond with their mothers outweighs any perceived danger posed by the prison environment.

As you are no doubt aware, current and former inmates of Alouette have filed a writ with the Supreme Court to reinstate the program. Whatever the court's decision, I respectfully request that you do whatever is in your power to ensure that the mother-baby program at Alouette is operational as soon as possible, and take appropriate action to expand the program to incarcerated women in other prisons in British Columbia.