Objective: To assess the health outcomes of women on community supervision during the perinatal period and to analyze the associations between length of community supervision and perinatal health outcomes.
Design: A cross-sectional survey study.
Setting: Individual telephone interviews in San Antonio, Texas.
Participants: Women aged 18 to 50 years (N = 60) on community supervision.
Methods: We developed survey questions to measure participants' perinatal health outcomes during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. We used logistic regression to assess the associations between the length of community supervision and perinatal health outcomes.
Results: Most participants had an average of 4 arrests (SD = 7) and 5 years of community supervision (SD = 3), gave birth before 38 weeks gestation (n = 43; 71%), and reported feelings of depression (n = 40; 67%) and anxiety (n = 31; 52%) during their most recent pregnancies. Most participants had inadequate social support during childbirth (n = 55; 92%). More than a third of the participants experienced partner violence while on community supervision (n = 21; 35%), and a quarter experienced violence during their most recent pregnancies (n = 15; 25%). For each additional year on community supervision before birth, the odds of experiencing a pregnancy complication were 1.63 (95% confidence interval = [1.08, 2.82]) times higher.
Conclusion: The criminal legal system, although not designed to provide health care, should dedicate resources to address the perinatal health care needs of women while on community supervision.
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