Pregnancy Outcomes in U.S. Juvenile Residential Facilities

Lab member Minji Kim published a FIRST AUTHOR article in Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. This paper uses data from the Pregnancy in Prison Statistics study (PI: Carolyn Sufrin) and finds that there were 71 admissions of pregnant adolescents reported over 12 months from participating JRS. At the time of the census, six out of the 183 female adolescents (3.3%) were pregnant. Eight pregnancies ended while in custody. Of these, one pregnancy was a live full-term birth, four were miscarriages, and three were induced abortions. Administrative policies and services varied among the JRS. For example, all JRS had a prenatal care provider on-site, whereas two JRS helped cover the costs of abortions. Much more work is needed to understand the complexities of health care needs of justice-involved pregnant youth during and after their incarceration. READ MORE.