§ 44. Mr. Dribergasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what ante-natal care and advice is provided for women who are sent to prison when pregnant; to what extent it is his practice to release a prisoner, in such a case, before her child is born; and what arrangements are made for after-care when such a prisoner has no home to go to.
§ Mr. Fletcher-CookeAnte-natal care and advice is provided by prison medical officers and, where appropriate, at the ante-natal clinics of outside hospitals. The prisoner is nearly always removed to an outside hospital for the confinement, except that a pregnant woman under sentence is usually released before her child is born if the expected date of the confinement is very near the due date of release. Where the woman is homeless, the after-care organisations arrange for her, if she wishes, to go to a mother and baby home or to accommodation provided by the local authority.