Determining the unmet reproductive health needs of previously incarcerated women

Low-income and previously incarcerated women of color are more likely to experience health disparities in sexual and reproductive health care. Three organizations came together to develop a woman of color centric doula training for low-income and previously incarcerated women. The Birth Justice Project’s mission is to end reproductive injustice within incarcerated and underserved populations. Black Women Birthing Justice is a collective of African-American, African, Caribbean and multiracial women whose vision is that that every woman should have an empowering birthing experience free of unnecessary medical interventions. The University of California, San Francisco, Family Health Care Nursing Department’s mission is to optimize the health and well-being of children, women, and families in a changing multicultural society through our nursing programs of teaching, research, and practice, as well as through community service. These organizations developed a doula training “gateway drug” to the health professions for low-income and previously incarcerated women and test this vocational training as an intervention to reduce recidivism. During the training we collected comprehensive demographic data from our and found that those participating in the program report a high degree of involuntary first sexual experience prior and inappropriate sexual experiences with people known to them before and after incarceration. Additionally, these women experienced gaps in key reproductive services due to their incarceration (post partum visits and discontinuation of breastfeeding). Future work should include the integration of health care obtained during incarceration to the medical records for women at risk for recidivism to provide comprehensive community based appropriate care.