The UK has the highest rate of female imprisonment in the European Union as at March 2004, and the steepest rate of increase.¹ It was estimated in March 2003 that 32 000 children per year (age under 16 years) are separated from their mother due to her imprisonment,² a figure which includes 2880 children under 18 months of age. There is currently a facility for only 90 children under 18 months old to remain with their mother in prison at present in England and Wales, although by spring 2005 the capacity will have increased to 114.³ The budget for the Prison Medical Service was transferred to the NHS from the Home Office on 1 April 2003 with a plan to transfer service delivery and management by 2008.⁴ As this offers an opportunity to reconfigure commissioning and services for children (approximately 0.2% of the child population of the UK) affected by maternal imprisonment, especially children who may suffer from being separated from their imprisoned mothers, we wish to initiate a discussion among colleagues in paediatrics, general psychiatry, child psychiatry, and psychology, regarding issues pertaining to children with imprisoned mothers. We wish to revisit the review of “babies behind bars” of 1992⁵ and explore the statistical trends, demographic influences, and service implications, and examine the implications of set age limits for the residence of children in prison mother and baby units (MBUs).⁶

IMPRISONED MOTHERS IN ENGLAND AND WALES

The number of women remanded in custody or receiving custodial sentences in England and Wales is increasing. In 1993 the point prevalence of women in prison was 1580, and in March 2004 it was 4589, an increase of nearly 300% in 11 years,⁷ and the highest rate in the European Union as it …