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Reproductive Health Care for Incarcerated Pregnant, Postpartum, and Nonpregnant Individuals

By The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)

ClinicalCommunityPartnerClinicalPolicyClinical CareIncarceratedIncarcerationMaternal Mental HealthCommittee Opinion

 Reproductive health care for incarcerated individuals should be provided in accordance with the same guidelines and recommendations as for those who are not incarcerated, with attention to the increased risk of infectious diseases and mental health conditions common to incarcerated populations. Ensuring that incarcerated individuals receive respectful, consistent, high-quality reproductive health, pregnancy, and postpartum care is essential for ameliorating inequities and affirming these individuals’ dignity. This revision provides comprehensive recommendations for pregnant, postpartum, and nonpregnant individuals and expands upon guidance to advocate for access to safe, quality, and dignified care.

This opinion was initially drafted in 2012 and reaffirmed in 2024.

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MHARC is committed to providing reliable, accurate resources that will increase the recipient’s ability to improve maternal health outcomes for all populations in their communities in order to advance maternal health in the U.S. Some of the resources may be primarily informational and others may be oriented more toward capacity-building to implement a program or action. Read our full resource usage disclaimer here.

This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U7CMC53579, Maternal Health Training & Resource Center. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position nor policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.

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