#maternaljustice

[coochiequeens]

Someone tell Harvard they can’t have it both ways, if they’re going to say pregnant and birthing people instead of women they can’t use the gendered MaternalJustice hashtag for twitter. 

[creativelifebynherie]

"MomsRising is a network of people just like you, united by the goal of building a more family-friendly America. @momsrising https://www.momsrising.org/ https://www.momsrising.org/campaigns . You can add your email to their list and take action directly from their website. They have crafted messages to Congress to act now on important issues facing moms, families and immigrant families. #paidleave #family #immigration #singlemom #singleparents #maternaljustice #healthcare #workplacejustice #youthandfamilyjustice https://www.instagram.com/p/CV2oSZnLHsg/?utm_medium=tumblr

[fabulizemag]

So many pregnancy news sites available and very few talk directly to Black parents and help with encouraging positive parenting. Black maternal health needs to be addressed as so many Black expecting parents are losing their lives due to negligence. . . . . . #blackmomskillingit #blackmaternalmortality #postpartumdoula #listentoblackwomen #positiveparenting #motherhoodthroughinstagram #blackmaternalhealthweek #blackmomsmatter #birthworker #blackmomsblogs #mindfulparenting #maternaljustice #blackmaternalhealth #blackwomenbloggers #blackbabies #blackmomsblog #letthembelittle #blackdoula #reproductivejustice #blackandpreggo #blackmothers #blackmoms #frobabies #dailyparenting #beautifulblackpregnancy #blackmomsdaily #normalizegentleparenting #consciousparenting #pregnancydiary #birthworkerofcolor (at Newark, New Jersey) https://www.instagram.com/p/B9jYLu4pGV9/?igshid=iyp5sznu30q4

[demdread]

This painting hanging in the state capital of Alabama take a long look at it. James Marian Sims - who perfected his surgical techniques by operating Without anesthesia on enslaved black woman because he believed black women Didn’t Feel Pain. he described the experimental surgeries on his enslaved subjects as “So painful, that none but a woman could have borne them. After perfecting the techniques on black enslaved woman with out anesthesia in America, Sims went on to offer the procedure in Europe to wealthy white women who were sedated. This man is arguably the most famous American surgeon of the 19th century. I see him no different than Josef Megele both pure monsters.I hope everyone who goes to the gynecologist will close their eyes for a moment and honor these enslaved black women. I cannot, Cannot fathom the pain these black women endured under this man’s hands. And that painting.... who should be honored? The irony is also in their clothes. Some people, society look at people’s status, respect even on how one is dressed. The one who should be honered and respected is the one who owns no shoes. 🔁 @onealmcknight thank you! #4kira4moms #momentoftruth #maternaljustice #protectblackwomen #thisisamerica #blackmamasmatter #juneteenth #sheshouldbehere #shameoncedars https://www.instagram.com/p/CIJTgBOFKxz/?igshid=qm1slqsoxo5z

[qcsupermom]

 The Women’s Symposium on Black Maternal Health:. The State of Black Maternal Health During COVID-19 HOST:  Congresswoman Alma Adams WHEN:  April 16, 20, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm WHERE:  Zoom; register at adams.house.gov/meeting WHO: Keynote Speakers Dr. Octavia Cannon & Dr. Augustus Garland Parker III and a panel of experts, with moderator Brigeda Mack, Co-Anchor, Good Day Charlotte -100 years after winning the right to vote, women continue to fight for equal representation, respect, and rights. When it comes to Black maternal health, many women unexpectedly end up in the fight of their lives. Our 5th annual Women’s Symposium will address critical issues facing women, mothers, and children – especially during COVID-19. Women are leaders in our communities regardless of sex, but we can’t forget that we still face critical issues that only women can solve. I’ll also be on hand to speak about congressional priorities and legislation regarding maternal health, including the Black Maternal Health Momnibus of 2020. Please join us for this important event, and help us send the message that Black Moms Matter #media #doulaincharlotte #blackBirthsMatter #Momnibus #reproductivehealth #blackmomsmatter #MaternalJustice #momof9 #RepAlmaAdams #Momsrising (at Mooresville, North Carolina) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-7n4sfh8P8/?igshid=1lr7nlku1vgca

[pro-birth]

This is a painting that hung in the University of Alabama until 2006 take a long look at it.

James Marian Sims perfected his surgical techniques by operating without anesthesia on enslaved black woman because he believed black women Didn’t Feel Pain.

He described the experimental surgeries on his enslaved subjects as “So painful, that none but a woman could have borne them.” After perfecting the techniques on black enslaved woman with out anesthesia in America. Sims went on to offer the procedure in Europe to wealthy white women who were always sedated.

This man is arguably the most famous American surgeon of the 19th century. He used to have a statue memorializing him in Central Park

I see him no different than Josef Megele both brilliant scientists who treated human beings like their personal Petri dish for experimentation, pure monsters.

I hope everyone who goes to the gynecologist will close their eyes for a moment and honor these enslaved black women.

#4kira4moms #momentoftruth #maternaljustice #protectblackwomen #thisisamerica #blackmamasmatter #juneteenth #sheshouldbehere #shameoncedars

Edit:

Some people have asked why did I post this, is this to create drama. No, this is to create awareness about the evil and painful roots of racism.

Did you know that these stereotypes persist in medical students to this day!

In the 2016 study, for example, trainees who believed that black people are not as sensitive to pain as white people were less likely to treat black people’s pain appropriately.

I find it shocking that 40% of first- and second-year medical students endorsed the belief that “black people’s skin is thicker than white people’s.”

https://www.aamc.org/news-insights/how-we-fail-black-patients-pain

Other findings are equally worrisome. In a 2012 study, my colleagues and I found a correlation between pediatricians’ implicit (unconscious) racial biases and how they treated pain in a simulated African-American or white teenager following surgery: As the strength of provider implicit bias favoring whites increased, the likelihood of prescribing appropriate pain medication decreased only for the black patient. What’s more, a meta-analysis of 20 years of studies covering many sources of pain in numerous settings found that black/African American patients were 22% less likely than white patients to receive any pain medication.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22239747/

Black women are more likely to die from childbirth even when you control for socioeconomics

https://www.npr.org/2017/12/07/568948782/black-mothers-keep-dying-after-giving-birth-shalon-irvings-story-explains-why

The disproportionate toll on African-Americans is the main reason the U.S. maternal mortality rate is so much higher than that of other affluent countries. Black expectant and new mothers in the U.S. die at about the same rate as women in countries such as Mexico and Uzbekistan, the World Health Organization estimates.

What's more, even relatively well-off black women like Shalon Irving die and nearly die at higher rates than whites. Again, New York City offers a startling example: A 2016 analysis of five years of data found that black, college-educated mothers who gave birth in local hospitals were more likely to suffer severe complications of pregnancy or childbirth than white women who never graduated from high school.

This is just the tip of the iceberg

Interested in learning more ?

#theyoungblacksheep

Legitimate and reputable sources:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/04/18/statue-of-father-of-gynecology-who-experimented-on-enslaved-women-removed-from-central-park/%3foutputType=amp

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1376165/?page=3

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/apr/21/j-marion-sims-statue-removed-new-york-city-black-women

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vox.com/platform/amp/identities/2018/4/18/17254234/j-marion-sims-experiments-slaves-women-gynecology-statue-removal

Alternate perspective:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2563360/

From Aryanna Chantel posting on Fascinating Facts on Facebook.

[improvingbirth]

Wow! With every purchase of this shirt, @wholemotherco is donating to ImprovingBirth. How awesome is that?! . From @wholemotherco: You shop with us because $3 of each tank you purchase will go directly to a mother-friendly cause you care about. (Also, it’s a pretty cute shirt. And it goes with denim 😜) Current Campaign Recipient: @improvingbirth #improvingbirth #knowbetterdobetter #evidencebased #humanity #maternaljustice #giveback #momshop #motherfriendly #shoplocalsandiego #mommade #motherhood #momclub #momshirt #goodmom #wholemotherco #wholemotherlevel #thatwholemotherlife #thiswholemother #busymama #payitforward #raisingworldchangers https://www.instagram.com/p/BqlLV-rDRrk/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=l9seoqwo1k91

[sdaclu]

Join @MomsRising, @sdACLU & @wrcommission 9/25 5-6p PT @ #MaternalJustice to talk about Mothers and Pregnant Women in Detention

[theresidentnews]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by 4Kira4moms (@4kira4moms)

4kira4moms

Encore Alert 💥🚨💥The feedback was so amazing from last weeks episode of @theresidentonfox inspired by Kira’s story.  Fox has desided to air the episode again this Saturday @9pm 🤯. Yup! A special Encore broadcast in the middle of the current season. This NEVER HAPPENS! This is exactly the message that we wanted to send. People want to see these stories being told. Thank you to everyone for going so hard in support of this movement. I promise we are just getting started 🙏🏾💛💫 #4kira4moms #applypressure #lovealwayswins #maternaljustice #marchformoms #unspokenstories #blackmammasmatter #shameoncedars

[ppaction]

Here’s what you missed.

[dragons-in-bowties-blog]

A maternal justice advocate explains how you can help get pregnant women released from ICE detention centers

A maternal justice advocate explains how you can help get pregnant women released from ICE detention centers

On July 9th, Ema O'Connor and Nidhi Prakash published an investigative report on BuzzFeed News detailing the horrific conditions in ICE detention centers that have caused pregnant immigrant women to miscarry while under U.S. government supervision. Pregnant refugees seeking asylum had shackles placed around their stomachs, were denied prenatal treatment, lost dangerous amounts of weight, and were refused medical treatment when miscarriages began. An Obama-era policy had previously mandated that pregnant women could not be detained, and the Trump administration's “zero-tolerance” immigration policy ended that directive.

The barbaric separation and imprisonment of immigrant families at the border has thankfully received widespread attention and motivated national protests (as of today, more than 700 immigrant children have still not been reunited with their families despite the federal deadline). But for many, BuzzFeed's important and thorough article was their first time learning that detained pregnant women had been harmed to the point of miscarriage.

For MomsRising - a grassroots organization focused on maternal justice, health care, immigration, and human rights - the BuzzFeed article corroborated the stories of detained women they had already been defending.

I spoke to Nadia Hussain, Campaign Director of Maternal Justice at MomsRising, about the inhumane treatment of pregnant immigrant women in ICE detention centers, their campaigns and policy initiatives to free these women and end family imprisonment, and how we can support their actions. As Hussain tells me, Trump's entire immigration policy and mistreatment of pregnant women is based on punishment, resulting in human rights violations and a rejection of America's supposed democratic values. “It is an abomination; it is unacceptable,” she says. “It's time to speak up. We've seen with the family separations that people are saying something, and it's making a difference. [Detainment of pregnant women] is part of that same issue.”

On July 25th, the House Appropriations Committee approved an amendment “limiting” ICE agents' ability to shackle detained pregnant women - but this does not completely outlaw the heinous practice or put the Obama-era policy back in place. MomsRising is sponsoring another piece of legislation, the Stop Shackling and Detaining Pregnant Women Act, which you can read more about - along with more information on MomsRising and direct actions you can support - in our conversation below.

LOREN ELLIOTT/AFP/Getty Images

HelloGiggles (HG): Can you share more information about what pregnant women are enduring in these detention centers?

Nadia Hussain (NH): Last year, actually last summer, MomsRising advocated on a case for a woman who was pregnant and detained. Her family had started a petition on MoveOn to bring attention to her situation. She was undocumented and the mother of three U.S. born children…and she was picked up on her way to work. She actually found out she was pregnant at the detention center; she did not know she was pregnant before. Obviously, her family was distraught and worried about her condition, and that [petition] is how we found out about it.

We were able to eventually get her out after collaborating with the ACLU of San Diego and Senator Kamala Harris's office…We also created a petition and put out calls to action for our members. But during the time that she was in detention, we got news that she wasn't doing well - meaning that she was very worried about miscarrying. She also knew other women at the detention center - specifically the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego where she was being held - who had miscarried.

Release Pregnant Mom Maria Solis from Immigration Detention so she can get the care she needs! #MaternalJustice https://t.co/92s46kutM2

- MomsRising (@MomsRising) September 1, 2017

She was petrified of miscarrying. She was forced to clean her cell with very harsh chemicals, there was absolutely no consideration given to her because of her pregnant state, she was not given proper health care or food, she was losing weight, and she had to lift her bed and other heavy things to clean which are all harmful factors for someone in pregnancy. These were things that she was telling us - there was no coverage of it. When we did research, there was a history of detained women who had miscarried and lost their pregnancies in detention centers.

So we know that there isn't adequate healthcare generally - and not for a pregnant woman who has even more elevated health needs. But the difference is that the Obama administration did take action to have a policy, a directive, that pregnant women not be held in detention centers. So, let's say a pregnant woman was held in an ICE detention center, you could take action and say, there's an administrative directive to stop this, that [the woman] had to be let out. However, that directive has been thrown out the window [under the Trump administration]; it's been overturned. Now it's no holds barred, anybody can be detained at any time. Doesn't matter if they're pregnant, there's no credence given to it.

So how did we know what was happening? She - her name is Maria Solis - let us know, and her sister know, that this was happening. We didn't have any other proof of it. We're not journalists. And then, a year later, this BuzzFeed article literally mentioned Otay Mesa Detention Center as a place where women had lost their pregnancies, corroborating Maria's story.

Pregnant Women Say They Miscarried In Immigration Detention And Didn't Get The Care They Needed #MaternalJustice https://t.co/t5IKV68DZM

- MomsRising (@MomsRising) July 10, 2018

HG: You've been working to free these women from such horrifying conditions for some time. How does MomsRising specifically fight for them?

NH: We are glad the BuzzFeed article came out. We really feel like this is the tip of the iceberg of this issue. I mean, that's why you're asking me - there aren't a lot of great resources about this happening. MomsRising has been working on mass incarceration's impact on mothers and families, and I work on that with my campaign. One of the things we're doing specifically is with Senator Patty Murray. In the U.S. Senate, she has introduced a piece of legislation called the Stop Shackling and Detaining Pregnant Women Act.…This bill is in response to the BuzzFeed article. So that's what she's mentioned directly, as one of the reasons this bill was even put forth.

It is endorsed by the ACLU, as well as the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists - they're known as ACOG. Now, this is a pretty big deal that ACOG is actually endorsing this bill from the get-go - a group that is for obstetrics and gynecologists, for the doctors who actually work on this issue nationally. For them to immediately step forward and endorse this - that tells you a lot about how dire and how unconscionable this detainment is. The fact that a healthcare professional would automatically sign on to something like this.

MomsRising is also endorsing this bill, so we will be putting out support for this bill, a petition, and a poll for our members to urge their senators to co-sponsor this bill. And on the educational front, we are having a TweetChat on Monday, July 30th, from 8-9 p.m. EST about women in mass incarceration with the Prison Policy Initiative as well as #cut50 - which is another campaign working to help incarcerated women specifically.

Detention is a little different, but it's still the fact that women are in prison in a pregnant state. And that really is unacceptable for us as a country.

Pregnant women in detention have suffered miscarriages due to mistreatment and medical neglect. Far more humane & cost-effective alternatives to detention exist. These tragic outcomes are preventable. #MaternalJustice #FamiliesBelongTogether #EndFamilySeparation #ProtectFamilies

- MomsRising (@MomsRising) June 26, 2018

HG: Are there more policies that your organization hopes to see implemented in the future?

NH: So, in terms of detention, we need to have this directive back in place. Pregnant women should not be detained like this.

It's unacceptable when a woman escapes a dangerous situation to save her growing child in her stomach and loses her pregnancy because the U.S. decided that we don't respect the human rights of a pregnant woman.

First and foremost, the directive should be reinstated that pregnant women should absolutely not be detained whatsoever in immigration detention. Pregnancy is a heightened health situation. That doesn't mean these women don't have to report to court, or any of that, but detaining them in a cell, in a jail, is absolutely wrong and infuriating. It points poorly to any value on human rights in our nation.

There are alternatives to detention that have been shown to work. I believe ICE themselves have done some pilot programs that have shown a very high court turnout rate. And those programs have saved money. It's about $60 per family to use an alternative to detention - meaning these families are released and they still have a high turnout rate to court. But detaining a family costs hundreds and hundreds of dollars. Detention is ineffective and it hurts people, for no other reason than basically torturing and punishing them. It's really an abomination for a nation that supposedly values families.

Join us in calling on Congress to fund programs that #keepfamiliestogether by saying NO on a bill that would give @DHSgov 5 BILLION dollars to continue detaining 44,000 immigrants in detention camps. Please call now! #FamiliesBelongTogether #ProtectFamilies pic.twitter.com/jLlhui7rbv

- MomsRising (@MomsRising) July 25, 2018

HG: How will the trauma of being detained and losing their pregnancies impact the health of these women, mentally and physically, in the future?

NH: I mean, just the family separation first of all, and the children who are currently still separated from their families and detained, health experts and child welfare experts have already come out to say this is abhorrent for a child's development and it causes the kids to have PTSD.

It's the same thing for women being separated from their children or miscarrying. We are actively [following] PTSD in these women. And when I say “these women,” I mean fellow human beings, people who have come to this country for a better life, for opportunity, for their families and future families.

As far as the long term impact on their reproductive health and their bodies due to having an improperly managed pregnancy - having no ability to properly manage their pregnancy - I can only imagine the physical health effects of that, let alone the mental health effects of having a miscarriage.

John Moore/Getty Images

HG: How can readers support MomsRising in your efforts to protect detained pregnant women?

NH: MomsRising is a membership organization. Our membership is free, so you just go on momsrising.org and you put in your email to join our email list. All of our members get all of our petitions, which are delivered directly to Congress. If someone is interested in campaigning, they can join MomsRising and get the emails and updates about our immigration efforts.

They can also go to our website and look through our blog and our campaigns. We post some of our activities and actions there as well. And calling their senators and telling them to support this bill. Calling representatives and letting them know that this is unacceptable and that you need their support on this bill. We want all senators to know that this goes against anything that a democratic society should be supporting.

Sign our petitions, share things on social media - we always share things on our social media - and spread the word about what is happening. Share the BuzzFeed article. People need to know this is really happening and we need to stand up against it. If you or anybody you know is connected to any pregnant woman in detention, notify somebody. Notify MomsRising, the ACLU, your local newspaper. Notify your elected officials. Now is not the time to be quiet.

The post A maternal justice advocate explains how you can help get pregnant women released from ICE detention centers appeared first on HelloGiggles.

[fuckyeahslightlyamusing-blog]

A maternal justice advocate explains how you can help get pregnant women released from ICE detention centers

A maternal justice advocate explains how you can help get pregnant women released from ICE detention centers

On July 9th, Ema O'Connor and Nidhi Prakash published an investigative report on BuzzFeed News detailing the horrific conditions in ICE detention centers that have caused pregnant immigrant women to miscarry while under U.S. government supervision. Pregnant refugees seeking asylum had shackles placed around their stomachs, were denied prenatal treatment, lost dangerous amounts of weight, and were refused medical treatment when miscarriages began. An Obama-era policy had previously mandated that pregnant women could not be detained, and the Trump administration's “zero-tolerance” immigration policy ended that directive.

The barbaric separation and imprisonment of immigrant families at the border has thankfully received widespread attention and motivated national protests (as of today, more than 700 immigrant children have still not been reunited with their families despite the federal deadline). But for many, BuzzFeed's important and thorough article was their first time learning that detained pregnant women had been harmed to the point of miscarriage.

For MomsRising - a grassroots organization focused on maternal justice, health care, immigration, and human rights - the BuzzFeed article corroborated the stories of detained women they had already been defending.

I spoke to Nadia Hussain, Campaign Director of Maternal Justice at MomsRising, about the inhumane treatment of pregnant immigrant women in ICE detention centers, their campaigns and policy initiatives to free these women and end family imprisonment, and how we can support their actions. As Hussain tells me, Trump's entire immigration policy and mistreatment of pregnant women is based on punishment, resulting in human rights violations and a rejection of America's supposed democratic values. “It is an abomination; it is unacceptable,” she says. “It's time to speak up. We've seen with the family separations that people are saying something, and it's making a difference. [Detainment of pregnant women] is part of that same issue.”

On July 25th, the House Appropriations Committee approved an amendment “limiting” ICE agents' ability to shackle detained pregnant women - but this does not completely outlaw the heinous practice or put the Obama-era policy back in place. MomsRising is sponsoring another piece of legislation, the Stop Shackling and Detaining Pregnant Women Act, which you can read more about - along with more information on MomsRising and direct actions you can support - in our conversation below.

LOREN ELLIOTT/AFP/Getty Images

HelloGiggles (HG): Can you share more information about what pregnant women are enduring in these detention centers?

Nadia Hussain (NH): Last year, actually last summer, MomsRising advocated on a case for a woman who was pregnant and detained. Her family had started a petition on MoveOn to bring attention to her situation. She was undocumented and the mother of three U.S. born children…and she was picked up on her way to work. She actually found out she was pregnant at the detention center; she did not know she was pregnant before. Obviously, her family was distraught and worried about her condition, and that [petition] is how we found out about it.

We were able to eventually get her out after collaborating with the ACLU of San Diego and Senator Kamala Harris's office…We also created a petition and put out calls to action for our members. But during the time that she was in detention, we got news that she wasn't doing well - meaning that she was very worried about miscarrying. She also knew other women at the detention center - specifically the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego where she was being held - who had miscarried.

Release Pregnant Mom Maria Solis from Immigration Detention so she can get the care she needs! #MaternalJustice https://t.co/92s46kutM2

- MomsRising (@MomsRising) September 1, 2017

She was petrified of miscarrying. She was forced to clean her cell with very harsh chemicals, there was absolutely no consideration given to her because of her pregnant state, she was not given proper health care or food, she was losing weight, and she had to lift her bed and other heavy things to clean which are all harmful factors for someone in pregnancy. These were things that she was telling us - there was no coverage of it. When we did research, there was a history of detained women who had miscarried and lost their pregnancies in detention centers.

So we know that there isn't adequate healthcare generally - and not for a pregnant woman who has even more elevated health needs. But the difference is that the Obama administration did take action to have a policy, a directive, that pregnant women not be held in detention centers. So, let's say a pregnant woman was held in an ICE detention center, you could take action and say, there's an administrative directive to stop this, that [the woman] had to be let out. However, that directive has been thrown out the window [under the Trump administration]; it's been overturned. Now it's no holds barred, anybody can be detained at any time. Doesn't matter if they're pregnant, there's no credence given to it.

So how did we know what was happening? She - her name is Maria Solis - let us know, and her sister know, that this was happening. We didn't have any other proof of it. We're not journalists. And then, a year later, this BuzzFeed article literally mentioned Otay Mesa Detention Center as a place where women had lost their pregnancies, corroborating Maria's story.

Pregnant Women Say They Miscarried In Immigration Detention And Didn't Get The Care They Needed #MaternalJustice https://t.co/t5IKV68DZM

- MomsRising (@MomsRising) July 10, 2018

HG: You've been working to free these women from such horrifying conditions for some time. How does MomsRising specifically fight for them?

NH: We are glad the BuzzFeed article came out. We really feel like this is the tip of the iceberg of this issue. I mean, that's why you're asking me - there aren't a lot of great resources about this happening. MomsRising has been working on mass incarceration's impact on mothers and families, and I work on that with my campaign. One of the things we're doing specifically is with Senator Patty Murray. In the U.S. Senate, she has introduced a piece of legislation called the Stop Shackling and Detaining Pregnant Women Act.…This bill is in response to the BuzzFeed article. So that's what she's mentioned directly, as one of the reasons this bill was even put forth.

It is endorsed by the ACLU, as well as the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists - they're known as ACOG. Now, this is a pretty big deal that ACOG is actually endorsing this bill from the get-go - a group that is for obstetrics and gynecologists, for the doctors who actually work on this issue nationally. For them to immediately step forward and endorse this - that tells you a lot about how dire and how unconscionable this detainment is. The fact that a healthcare professional would automatically sign on to something like this.

MomsRising is also endorsing this bill, so we will be putting out support for this bill, a petition, and a poll for our members to urge their senators to co-sponsor this bill. And on the educational front, we are having a TweetChat on Monday, July 30th, from 8-9 p.m. EST about women in mass incarceration with the Prison Policy Initiative as well as #cut50 - which is another campaign working to help incarcerated women specifically.

Detention is a little different, but it's still the fact that women are in prison in a pregnant state. And that really is unacceptable for us as a country.

Pregnant women in detention have suffered miscarriages due to mistreatment and medical neglect. Far more humane & cost-effective alternatives to detention exist. These tragic outcomes are preventable. #MaternalJustice #FamiliesBelongTogether #EndFamilySeparation #ProtectFamilies

- MomsRising (@MomsRising) June 26, 2018

HG: Are there more policies that your organization hopes to see implemented in the future?

NH: So, in terms of detention, we need to have this directive back in place. Pregnant women should not be detained like this.

It's unacceptable when a woman escapes a dangerous situation to save her growing child in her stomach and loses her pregnancy because the U.S. decided that we don't respect the human rights of a pregnant woman.

First and foremost, the directive should be reinstated that pregnant women should absolutely not be detained whatsoever in immigration detention. Pregnancy is a heightened health situation. That doesn't mean these women don't have to report to court, or any of that, but detaining them in a cell, in a jail, is absolutely wrong and infuriating. It points poorly to any value on human rights in our nation.

There are alternatives to detention that have been shown to work. I believe ICE themselves have done some pilot programs that have shown a very high court turnout rate. And those programs have saved money. It's about $60 per family to use an alternative to detention - meaning these families are released and they still have a high turnout rate to court. But detaining a family costs hundreds and hundreds of dollars. Detention is ineffective and it hurts people, for no other reason than basically torturing and punishing them. It's really an abomination for a nation that supposedly values families.

Join us in calling on Congress to fund programs that #keepfamiliestogether by saying NO on a bill that would give @DHSgov 5 BILLION dollars to continue detaining 44,000 immigrants in detention camps. Please call now! #FamiliesBelongTogether #ProtectFamilies pic.twitter.com/jLlhui7rbv

- MomsRising (@MomsRising) July 25, 2018

HG: How will the trauma of being detained and losing their pregnancies impact the health of these women, mentally and physically, in the future?

NH: I mean, just the family separation first of all, and the children who are currently still separated from their families and detained, health experts and child welfare experts have already come out to say this is abhorrent for a child's development and it causes the kids to have PTSD.

It's the same thing for women being separated from their children or miscarrying. We are actively [following] PTSD in these women. And when I say “these women,” I mean fellow human beings, people who have come to this country for a better life, for opportunity, for their families and future families.

As far as the long term impact on their reproductive health and their bodies due to having an improperly managed pregnancy - having no ability to properly manage their pregnancy - I can only imagine the physical health effects of that, let alone the mental health effects of having a miscarriage.

John Moore/Getty Images

HG: How can readers support MomsRising in your efforts to protect detained pregnant women?

NH: MomsRising is a membership organization. Our membership is free, so you just go on momsrising.org and you put in your email to join our email list. All of our members get all of our petitions, which are delivered directly to Congress. If someone is interested in campaigning, they can join MomsRising and get the emails and updates about our immigration efforts.

They can also go to our website and look through our blog and our campaigns. We post some of our activities and actions there as well. And calling their senators and telling them to support this bill. Calling representatives and letting them know that this is unacceptable and that you need their support on this bill. We want all senators to know that this goes against anything that a democratic society should be supporting.

Sign our petitions, share things on social media - we always share things on our social media - and spread the word about what is happening. Share the BuzzFeed article. People need to know this is really happening and we need to stand up against it. If you or anybody you know is connected to any pregnant woman in detention, notify somebody. Notify MomsRising, the ACLU, your local newspaper. Notify your elected officials. Now is not the time to be quiet.

The post A maternal justice advocate explains how you can help get pregnant women released from ICE detention centers appeared first on HelloGiggles.

[tothe-tooth-blog]

A maternal justice advocate explains how you can help get pregnant women released from ICE detention centers

A maternal justice advocate explains how you can help get pregnant women released from ICE detention centers

On July 9th, Ema O'Connor and Nidhi Prakash published an investigative report on BuzzFeed News detailing the horrific conditions in ICE detention centers that have caused pregnant immigrant women to miscarry while under U.S. government supervision. Pregnant refugees seeking asylum had shackles placed around their stomachs, were denied prenatal treatment, lost dangerous amounts of weight, and were refused medical treatment when miscarriages began. An Obama-era policy had previously mandated that pregnant women could not be detained, and the Trump administration's “zero-tolerance” immigration policy ended that directive.

The barbaric separation and imprisonment of immigrant families at the border has thankfully received widespread attention and motivated national protests (as of today, more than 700 immigrant children have still not been reunited with their families despite the federal deadline). But for many, BuzzFeed's important and thorough article was their first time learning that detained pregnant women had been harmed to the point of miscarriage.

For MomsRising - a grassroots organization focused on maternal justice, health care, immigration, and human rights - the BuzzFeed article corroborated the stories of detained women they had already been defending.

I spoke to Nadia Hussain, Campaign Director of Maternal Justice at MomsRising, about the inhumane treatment of pregnant immigrant women in ICE detention centers, their campaigns and policy initiatives to free these women and end family imprisonment, and how we can support their actions. As Hussain tells me, Trump's entire immigration policy and mistreatment of pregnant women is based on punishment, resulting in human rights violations and a rejection of America's supposed democratic values. “It is an abomination; it is unacceptable,” she says. “It's time to speak up. We've seen with the family separations that people are saying something, and it's making a difference. [Detainment of pregnant women] is part of that same issue.”

On July 25th, the House Appropriations Committee approved an amendment “limiting” ICE agents' ability to shackle detained pregnant women - but this does not completely outlaw the heinous practice or put the Obama-era policy back in place. MomsRising is sponsoring another piece of legislation, the Stop Shackling and Detaining Pregnant Women Act, which you can read more about - along with more information on MomsRising and direct actions you can support - in our conversation below.

LOREN ELLIOTT/AFP/Getty Images

HelloGiggles (HG): Can you share more information about what pregnant women are enduring in these detention centers?

Nadia Hussain (NH): Last year, actually last summer, MomsRising advocated on a case for a woman who was pregnant and detained. Her family had started a petition on MoveOn to bring attention to her situation. She was undocumented and the mother of three U.S. born children…and she was picked up on her way to work. She actually found out she was pregnant at the detention center; she did not know she was pregnant before. Obviously, her family was distraught and worried about her condition, and that [petition] is how we found out about it.

We were able to eventually get her out after collaborating with the ACLU of San Diego and Senator Kamala Harris's office…We also created a petition and put out calls to action for our members. But during the time that she was in detention, we got news that she wasn't doing well - meaning that she was very worried about miscarrying. She also knew other women at the detention center - specifically the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego where she was being held - who had miscarried.

Release Pregnant Mom Maria Solis from Immigration Detention so she can get the care she needs! #MaternalJustice https://t.co/92s46kutM2

- MomsRising (@MomsRising) September 1, 2017

She was petrified of miscarrying. She was forced to clean her cell with very harsh chemicals, there was absolutely no consideration given to her because of her pregnant state, she was not given proper health care or food, she was losing weight, and she had to lift her bed and other heavy things to clean which are all harmful factors for someone in pregnancy. These were things that she was telling us - there was no coverage of it. When we did research, there was a history of detained women who had miscarried and lost their pregnancies in detention centers.

So we know that there isn't adequate healthcare generally - and not for a pregnant woman who has even more elevated health needs. But the difference is that the Obama administration did take action to have a policy, a directive, that pregnant women not be held in detention centers. So, let's say a pregnant woman was held in an ICE detention center, you could take action and say, there's an administrative directive to stop this, that [the woman] had to be let out. However, that directive has been thrown out the window [under the Trump administration]; it's been overturned. Now it's no holds barred, anybody can be detained at any time. Doesn't matter if they're pregnant, there's no credence given to it.

So how did we know what was happening? She - her name is Maria Solis - let us know, and her sister know, that this was happening. We didn't have any other proof of it. We're not journalists. And then, a year later, this BuzzFeed article literally mentioned Otay Mesa Detention Center as a place where women had lost their pregnancies, corroborating Maria's story.

Pregnant Women Say They Miscarried In Immigration Detention And Didn't Get The Care They Needed #MaternalJustice https://t.co/t5IKV68DZM

- MomsRising (@MomsRising) July 10, 2018

HG: You've been working to free these women from such horrifying conditions for some time. How does MomsRising specifically fight for them?

NH: We are glad the BuzzFeed article came out. We really feel like this is the tip of the iceberg of this issue. I mean, that's why you're asking me - there aren't a lot of great resources about this happening. MomsRising has been working on mass incarceration's impact on mothers and families, and I work on that with my campaign. One of the things we're doing specifically is with Senator Patty Murray. In the U.S. Senate, she has introduced a piece of legislation called the Stop Shackling and Detaining Pregnant Women Act.…This bill is in response to the BuzzFeed article. So that's what she's mentioned directly, as one of the reasons this bill was even put forth.

It is endorsed by the ACLU, as well as the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists - they're known as ACOG. Now, this is a pretty big deal that ACOG is actually endorsing this bill from the get-go - a group that is for obstetrics and gynecologists, for the doctors who actually work on this issue nationally. For them to immediately step forward and endorse this - that tells you a lot about how dire and how unconscionable this detainment is. The fact that a healthcare professional would automatically sign on to something like this.

MomsRising is also endorsing this bill, so we will be putting out support for this bill, a petition, and a poll for our members to urge their senators to co-sponsor this bill. And on the educational front, we are having a TweetChat on Monday, July 30th, from 8-9 p.m. EST about women in mass incarceration with the Prison Policy Initiative as well as #cut50 - which is another campaign working to help incarcerated women specifically.

Detention is a little different, but it's still the fact that women are in prison in a pregnant state. And that really is unacceptable for us as a country.

Pregnant women in detention have suffered miscarriages due to mistreatment and medical neglect. Far more humane & cost-effective alternatives to detention exist. These tragic outcomes are preventable. #MaternalJustice #FamiliesBelongTogether #EndFamilySeparation #ProtectFamilies

- MomsRising (@MomsRising) June 26, 2018

HG: Are there more policies that your organization hopes to see implemented in the future?

NH: So, in terms of detention, we need to have this directive back in place. Pregnant women should not be detained like this.

It's unacceptable when a woman escapes a dangerous situation to save her growing child in her stomach and loses her pregnancy because the U.S. decided that we don't respect the human rights of a pregnant woman.

First and foremost, the directive should be reinstated that pregnant women should absolutely not be detained whatsoever in immigration detention. Pregnancy is a heightened health situation. That doesn't mean these women don't have to report to court, or any of that, but detaining them in a cell, in a jail, is absolutely wrong and infuriating. It points poorly to any value on human rights in our nation.

There are alternatives to detention that have been shown to work. I believe ICE themselves have done some pilot programs that have shown a very high court turnout rate. And those programs have saved money. It's about $60 per family to use an alternative to detention - meaning these families are released and they still have a high turnout rate to court. But detaining a family costs hundreds and hundreds of dollars. Detention is ineffective and it hurts people, for no other reason than basically torturing and punishing them. It's really an abomination for a nation that supposedly values families.

Join us in calling on Congress to fund programs that #keepfamiliestogether by saying NO on a bill that would give @DHSgov 5 BILLION dollars to continue detaining 44,000 immigrants in detention camps. Please call now! #FamiliesBelongTogether #ProtectFamilies pic.twitter.com/jLlhui7rbv

- MomsRising (@MomsRising) July 25, 2018

HG: How will the trauma of being detained and losing their pregnancies impact the health of these women, mentally and physically, in the future?

NH: I mean, just the family separation first of all, and the children who are currently still separated from their families and detained, health experts and child welfare experts have already come out to say this is abhorrent for a child's development and it causes the kids to have PTSD.

It's the same thing for women being separated from their children or miscarrying. We are actively [following] PTSD in these women. And when I say “these women,” I mean fellow human beings, people who have come to this country for a better life, for opportunity, for their families and future families.

As far as the long term impact on their reproductive health and their bodies due to having an improperly managed pregnancy - having no ability to properly manage their pregnancy - I can only imagine the physical health effects of that, let alone the mental health effects of having a miscarriage.

John Moore/Getty Images

HG: How can readers support MomsRising in your efforts to protect detained pregnant women?

NH: MomsRising is a membership organization. Our membership is free, so you just go on momsrising.org and you put in your email to join our email list. All of our members get all of our petitions, which are delivered directly to Congress. If someone is interested in campaigning, they can join MomsRising and get the emails and updates about our immigration efforts.

They can also go to our website and look through our blog and our campaigns. We post some of our activities and actions there as well. And calling their senators and telling them to support this bill. Calling representatives and letting them know that this is unacceptable and that you need their support on this bill. We want all senators to know that this goes against anything that a democratic society should be supporting.

Sign our petitions, share things on social media - we always share things on our social media - and spread the word about what is happening. Share the BuzzFeed article. People need to know this is really happening and we need to stand up against it. If you or anybody you know is connected to any pregnant woman in detention, notify somebody. Notify MomsRising, the ACLU, your local newspaper. Notify your elected officials. Now is not the time to be quiet.

The post A maternal justice advocate explains how you can help get pregnant women released from ICE detention centers appeared first on HelloGiggles.

[inkundu1]

A maternal justice advocate explains how you can help get pregnant women released from ICE detention centers

A maternal justice advocate explains how you can help get pregnant women released from ICE detention centers

On July 9th, Ema O'Connor and Nidhi Prakash published an investigative report on BuzzFeed News detailing the horrific conditions in ICE detention centers that have caused pregnant immigrant women to miscarry while under U.S. government supervision. Pregnant refugees seeking asylum had shackles placed around their stomachs, were denied prenatal treatment, lost dangerous amounts of weight, and were refused medical treatment when miscarriages began. An Obama-era policy had previously mandated that pregnant women could not be detained, and the Trump administration's “zero-tolerance” immigration policy ended that directive.

The barbaric separation and imprisonment of immigrant families at the border has thankfully received widespread attention and motivated national protests (as of today, more than 700 immigrant children have still not been reunited with their families despite the federal deadline). But for many, BuzzFeed's important and thorough article was their first time learning that detained pregnant women had been harmed to the point of miscarriage.

For MomsRising - a grassroots organization focused on maternal justice, health care, immigration, and human rights - the BuzzFeed article corroborated the stories of detained women they had already been defending.

I spoke to Nadia Hussain, Campaign Director of Maternal Justice at MomsRising, about the inhumane treatment of pregnant immigrant women in ICE detention centers, their campaigns and policy initiatives to free these women and end family imprisonment, and how we can support their actions. As Hussain tells me, Trump's entire immigration policy and mistreatment of pregnant women is based on punishment, resulting in human rights violations and a rejection of America's supposed democratic values. “It is an abomination; it is unacceptable,” she says. “It's time to speak up. We've seen with the family separations that people are saying something, and it's making a difference. [Detainment of pregnant women] is part of that same issue.”

On July 25th, the House Appropriations Committee approved an amendment “limiting” ICE agents' ability to shackle detained pregnant women - but this does not completely outlaw the heinous practice or put the Obama-era policy back in place. MomsRising is sponsoring another piece of legislation, the Stop Shackling and Detaining Pregnant Women Act, which you can read more about - along with more information on MomsRising and direct actions you can support - in our conversation below.

LOREN ELLIOTT/AFP/Getty Images

HelloGiggles (HG): Can you share more information about what pregnant women are enduring in these detention centers?

Nadia Hussain (NH): Last year, actually last summer, MomsRising advocated on a case for a woman who was pregnant and detained. Her family had started a petition on MoveOn to bring attention to her situation. She was undocumented and the mother of three U.S. born children…and she was picked up on her way to work. She actually found out she was pregnant at the detention center; she did not know she was pregnant before. Obviously, her family was distraught and worried about her condition, and that [petition] is how we found out about it.

We were able to eventually get her out after collaborating with the ACLU of San Diego and Senator Kamala Harris's office…We also created a petition and put out calls to action for our members. But during the time that she was in detention, we got news that she wasn't doing well - meaning that she was very worried about miscarrying. She also knew other women at the detention center - specifically the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego where she was being held - who had miscarried.

Release Pregnant Mom Maria Solis from Immigration Detention so she can get the care she needs! #MaternalJustice https://t.co/92s46kutM2

- MomsRising (@MomsRising) September 1, 2017

She was petrified of miscarrying. She was forced to clean her cell with very harsh chemicals, there was absolutely no consideration given to her because of her pregnant state, she was not given proper health care or food, she was losing weight, and she had to lift her bed and other heavy things to clean which are all harmful factors for someone in pregnancy. These were things that she was telling us - there was no coverage of it. When we did research, there was a history of detained women who had miscarried and lost their pregnancies in detention centers.

So we know that there isn't adequate healthcare generally - and not for a pregnant woman who has even more elevated health needs. But the difference is that the Obama administration did take action to have a policy, a directive, that pregnant women not be held in detention centers. So, let's say a pregnant woman was held in an ICE detention center, you could take action and say, there's an administrative directive to stop this, that [the woman] had to be let out. However, that directive has been thrown out the window [under the Trump administration]; it's been overturned. Now it's no holds barred, anybody can be detained at any time. Doesn't matter if they're pregnant, there's no credence given to it.

So how did we know what was happening? She - her name is Maria Solis - let us know, and her sister know, that this was happening. We didn't have any other proof of it. We're not journalists. And then, a year later, this BuzzFeed article literally mentioned Otay Mesa Detention Center as a place where women had lost their pregnancies, corroborating Maria's story.

Pregnant Women Say They Miscarried In Immigration Detention And Didn't Get The Care They Needed #MaternalJustice https://t.co/t5IKV68DZM

- MomsRising (@MomsRising) July 10, 2018

HG: You've been working to free these women from such horrifying conditions for some time. How does MomsRising specifically fight for them?

NH: We are glad the BuzzFeed article came out. We really feel like this is the tip of the iceberg of this issue. I mean, that's why you're asking me - there aren't a lot of great resources about this happening. MomsRising has been working on mass incarceration's impact on mothers and families, and I work on that with my campaign. One of the things we're doing specifically is with Senator Patty Murray. In the U.S. Senate, she has introduced a piece of legislation called the Stop Shackling and Detaining Pregnant Women Act.…This bill is in response to the BuzzFeed article. So that's what she's mentioned directly, as one of the reasons this bill was even put forth.

It is endorsed by the ACLU, as well as the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists - they're known as ACOG. Now, this is a pretty big deal that ACOG is actually endorsing this bill from the get-go - a group that is for obstetrics and gynecologists, for the doctors who actually work on this issue nationally. For them to immediately step forward and endorse this - that tells you a lot about how dire and how unconscionable this detainment is. The fact that a healthcare professional would automatically sign on to something like this.

MomsRising is also endorsing this bill, so we will be putting out support for this bill, a petition, and a poll for our members to urge their senators to co-sponsor this bill. And on the educational front, we are having a TweetChat on Monday, July 30th, from 8-9 p.m. EST about women in mass incarceration with the Prison Policy Initiative as well as #cut50 - which is another campaign working to help incarcerated women specifically.

Detention is a little different, but it's still the fact that women are in prison in a pregnant state. And that really is unacceptable for us as a country.

Pregnant women in detention have suffered miscarriages due to mistreatment and medical neglect. Far more humane & cost-effective alternatives to detention exist. These tragic outcomes are preventable. #MaternalJustice #FamiliesBelongTogether #EndFamilySeparation #ProtectFamilies

- MomsRising (@MomsRising) June 26, 2018

HG: Are there more policies that your organization hopes to see implemented in the future?

NH: So, in terms of detention, we need to have this directive back in place. Pregnant women should not be detained like this.

It's unacceptable when a woman escapes a dangerous situation to save her growing child in her stomach and loses her pregnancy because the U.S. decided that we don't respect the human rights of a pregnant woman.

First and foremost, the directive should be reinstated that pregnant women should absolutely not be detained whatsoever in immigration detention. Pregnancy is a heightened health situation. That doesn't mean these women don't have to report to court, or any of that, but detaining them in a cell, in a jail, is absolutely wrong and infuriating. It points poorly to any value on human rights in our nation.

There are alternatives to detention that have been shown to work. I believe ICE themselves have done some pilot programs that have shown a very high court turnout rate. And those programs have saved money. It's about $60 per family to use an alternative to detention - meaning these families are released and they still have a high turnout rate to court. But detaining a family costs hundreds and hundreds of dollars. Detention is ineffective and it hurts people, for no other reason than basically torturing and punishing them. It's really an abomination for a nation that supposedly values families.

Join us in calling on Congress to fund programs that #keepfamiliestogether by saying NO on a bill that would give @DHSgov 5 BILLION dollars to continue detaining 44,000 immigrants in detention camps. Please call now! #FamiliesBelongTogether #ProtectFamilies pic.twitter.com/jLlhui7rbv

- MomsRising (@MomsRising) July 25, 2018

HG: How will the trauma of being detained and losing their pregnancies impact the health of these women, mentally and physically, in the future?

NH: I mean, just the family separation first of all, and the children who are currently still separated from their families and detained, health experts and child welfare experts have already come out to say this is abhorrent for a child's development and it causes the kids to have PTSD.

It's the same thing for women being separated from their children or miscarrying. We are actively [following] PTSD in these women. And when I say “these women,” I mean fellow human beings, people who have come to this country for a better life, for opportunity, for their families and future families.

As far as the long term impact on their reproductive health and their bodies due to having an improperly managed pregnancy - having no ability to properly manage their pregnancy - I can only imagine the physical health effects of that, let alone the mental health effects of having a miscarriage.

John Moore/Getty Images

HG: How can readers support MomsRising in your efforts to protect detained pregnant women?

NH: MomsRising is a membership organization. Our membership is free, so you just go on momsrising.org and you put in your email to join our email list. All of our members get all of our petitions, which are delivered directly to Congress. If someone is interested in campaigning, they can join MomsRising and get the emails and updates about our immigration efforts.

They can also go to our website and look through our blog and our campaigns. We post some of our activities and actions there as well. And calling their senators and telling them to support this bill. Calling representatives and letting them know that this is unacceptable and that you need their support on this bill. We want all senators to know that this goes against anything that a democratic society should be supporting.

Sign our petitions, share things on social media - we always share things on our social media - and spread the word about what is happening. Share the BuzzFeed article. People need to know this is really happening and we need to stand up against it. If you or anybody you know is connected to any pregnant woman in detention, notify somebody. Notify MomsRising, the ACLU, your local newspaper. Notify your elected officials. Now is not the time to be quiet.

The post A maternal justice advocate explains how you can help get pregnant women released from ICE detention centers appeared first on HelloGiggles.

[cowgirluli-blog]

A maternal justice advocate explains how you can help get pregnant women released from ICE detention centers

A maternal justice advocate explains how you can help get pregnant women released from ICE detention centers

On July 9th, Ema O'Connor and Nidhi Prakash published an investigative report on BuzzFeed News detailing the horrific conditions in ICE detention centers that have caused pregnant immigrant women to miscarry while under U.S. government supervision. Pregnant refugees seeking asylum had shackles placed around their stomachs, were denied prenatal treatment, lost dangerous amounts of weight, and were refused medical treatment when miscarriages began. An Obama-era policy had previously mandated that pregnant women could not be detained, and the Trump administration's “zero-tolerance” immigration policy ended that directive.

The barbaric separation and imprisonment of immigrant families at the border has thankfully received widespread attention and motivated national protests (as of today, more than 700 immigrant children have still not been reunited with their families despite the federal deadline). But for many, BuzzFeed's important and thorough article was their first time learning that detained pregnant women had been harmed to the point of miscarriage.

For MomsRising - a grassroots organization focused on maternal justice, health care, immigration, and human rights - the BuzzFeed article corroborated the stories of detained women they had already been defending.

I spoke to Nadia Hussain, Campaign Director of Maternal Justice at MomsRising, about the inhumane treatment of pregnant immigrant women in ICE detention centers, their campaigns and policy initiatives to free these women and end family imprisonment, and how we can support their actions. As Hussain tells me, Trump's entire immigration policy and mistreatment of pregnant women is based on punishment, resulting in human rights violations and a rejection of America's supposed democratic values. “It is an abomination; it is unacceptable,” she says. “It's time to speak up. We've seen with the family separations that people are saying something, and it's making a difference. [Detainment of pregnant women] is part of that same issue.”

On July 25th, the House Appropriations Committee approved an amendment “limiting” ICE agents' ability to shackle detained pregnant women - but this does not completely outlaw the heinous practice or put the Obama-era policy back in place. MomsRising is sponsoring another piece of legislation, the Stop Shackling and Detaining Pregnant Women Act, which you can read more about - along with more information on MomsRising and direct actions you can support - in our conversation below.

LOREN ELLIOTT/AFP/Getty Images

HelloGiggles (HG): Can you share more information about what pregnant women are enduring in these detention centers?

Nadia Hussain (NH): Last year, actually last summer, MomsRising advocated on a case for a woman who was pregnant and detained. Her family had started a petition on MoveOn to bring attention to her situation. She was undocumented and the mother of three U.S. born children…and she was picked up on her way to work. She actually found out she was pregnant at the detention center; she did not know she was pregnant before. Obviously, her family was distraught and worried about her condition, and that [petition] is how we found out about it.

We were able to eventually get her out after collaborating with the ACLU of San Diego and Senator Kamala Harris's office…We also created a petition and put out calls to action for our members. But during the time that she was in detention, we got news that she wasn't doing well - meaning that she was very worried about miscarrying. She also knew other women at the detention center - specifically the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego where she was being held - who had miscarried.

Release Pregnant Mom Maria Solis from Immigration Detention so she can get the care she needs! #MaternalJustice https://t.co/92s46kutM2

- MomsRising (@MomsRising) September 1, 2017

She was petrified of miscarrying. She was forced to clean her cell with very harsh chemicals, there was absolutely no consideration given to her because of her pregnant state, she was not given proper health care or food, she was losing weight, and she had to lift her bed and other heavy things to clean which are all harmful factors for someone in pregnancy. These were things that she was telling us - there was no coverage of it. When we did research, there was a history of detained women who had miscarried and lost their pregnancies in detention centers.

So we know that there isn't adequate healthcare generally - and not for a pregnant woman who has even more elevated health needs. But the difference is that the Obama administration did take action to have a policy, a directive, that pregnant women not be held in detention centers. So, let's say a pregnant woman was held in an ICE detention center, you could take action and say, there's an administrative directive to stop this, that [the woman] had to be let out. However, that directive has been thrown out the window [under the Trump administration]; it's been overturned. Now it's no holds barred, anybody can be detained at any time. Doesn't matter if they're pregnant, there's no credence given to it.

So how did we know what was happening? She - her name is Maria Solis - let us know, and her sister know, that this was happening. We didn't have any other proof of it. We're not journalists. And then, a year later, this BuzzFeed article literally mentioned Otay Mesa Detention Center as a place where women had lost their pregnancies, corroborating Maria's story.

Pregnant Women Say They Miscarried In Immigration Detention And Didn't Get The Care They Needed #MaternalJustice https://t.co/t5IKV68DZM

- MomsRising (@MomsRising) July 10, 2018

HG: You've been working to free these women from such horrifying conditions for some time. How does MomsRising specifically fight for them?

NH: We are glad the BuzzFeed article came out. We really feel like this is the tip of the iceberg of this issue. I mean, that's why you're asking me - there aren't a lot of great resources about this happening. MomsRising has been working on mass incarceration's impact on mothers and families, and I work on that with my campaign. One of the things we're doing specifically is with Senator Patty Murray. In the U.S. Senate, she has introduced a piece of legislation called the Stop Shackling and Detaining Pregnant Women Act.…This bill is in response to the BuzzFeed article. So that's what she's mentioned directly, as one of the reasons this bill was even put forth.

It is endorsed by the ACLU, as well as the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists - they're known as ACOG. Now, this is a pretty big deal that ACOG is actually endorsing this bill from the get-go - a group that is for obstetrics and gynecologists, for the doctors who actually work on this issue nationally. For them to immediately step forward and endorse this - that tells you a lot about how dire and how unconscionable this detainment is. The fact that a healthcare professional would automatically sign on to something like this.

MomsRising is also endorsing this bill, so we will be putting out support for this bill, a petition, and a poll for our members to urge their senators to co-sponsor this bill. And on the educational front, we are having a TweetChat on Monday, July 30th, from 8-9 p.m. EST about women in mass incarceration with the Prison Policy Initiative as well as #cut50 - which is another campaign working to help incarcerated women specifically.

Detention is a little different, but it's still the fact that women are in prison in a pregnant state. And that really is unacceptable for us as a country.

Pregnant women in detention have suffered miscarriages due to mistreatment and medical neglect. Far more humane & cost-effective alternatives to detention exist. These tragic outcomes are preventable. #MaternalJustice #FamiliesBelongTogether #EndFamilySeparation #ProtectFamilies

- MomsRising (@MomsRising) June 26, 2018

HG: Are there more policies that your organization hopes to see implemented in the future?

NH: So, in terms of detention, we need to have this directive back in place. Pregnant women should not be detained like this.

It's unacceptable when a woman escapes a dangerous situation to save her growing child in her stomach and loses her pregnancy because the U.S. decided that we don't respect the human rights of a pregnant woman.

First and foremost, the directive should be reinstated that pregnant women should absolutely not be detained whatsoever in immigration detention. Pregnancy is a heightened health situation. That doesn't mean these women don't have to report to court, or any of that, but detaining them in a cell, in a jail, is absolutely wrong and infuriating. It points poorly to any value on human rights in our nation.

There are alternatives to detention that have been shown to work. I believe ICE themselves have done some pilot programs that have shown a very high court turnout rate. And those programs have saved money. It's about $60 per family to use an alternative to detention - meaning these families are released and they still have a high turnout rate to court. But detaining a family costs hundreds and hundreds of dollars. Detention is ineffective and it hurts people, for no other reason than basically torturing and punishing them. It's really an abomination for a nation that supposedly values families.

Join us in calling on Congress to fund programs that #keepfamiliestogether by saying NO on a bill that would give @DHSgov 5 BILLION dollars to continue detaining 44,000 immigrants in detention camps. Please call now! #FamiliesBelongTogether #ProtectFamilies pic.twitter.com/jLlhui7rbv

- MomsRising (@MomsRising) July 25, 2018

HG: How will the trauma of being detained and losing their pregnancies impact the health of these women, mentally and physically, in the future?

NH: I mean, just the family separation first of all, and the children who are currently still separated from their families and detained, health experts and child welfare experts have already come out to say this is abhorrent for a child's development and it causes the kids to have PTSD.

It's the same thing for women being separated from their children or miscarrying. We are actively [following] PTSD in these women. And when I say “these women,” I mean fellow human beings, people who have come to this country for a better life, for opportunity, for their families and future families.

As far as the long term impact on their reproductive health and their bodies due to having an improperly managed pregnancy - having no ability to properly manage their pregnancy - I can only imagine the physical health effects of that, let alone the mental health effects of having a miscarriage.

John Moore/Getty Images

HG: How can readers support MomsRising in your efforts to protect detained pregnant women?

NH: MomsRising is a membership organization. Our membership is free, so you just go on momsrising.org and you put in your email to join our email list. All of our members get all of our petitions, which are delivered directly to Congress. If someone is interested in campaigning, they can join MomsRising and get the emails and updates about our immigration efforts.

They can also go to our website and look through our blog and our campaigns. We post some of our activities and actions there as well. And calling their senators and telling them to support this bill. Calling representatives and letting them know that this is unacceptable and that you need their support on this bill. We want all senators to know that this goes against anything that a democratic society should be supporting.

Sign our petitions, share things on social media - we always share things on our social media - and spread the word about what is happening. Share the BuzzFeed article. People need to know this is really happening and we need to stand up against it. If you or anybody you know is connected to any pregnant woman in detention, notify somebody. Notify MomsRising, the ACLU, your local newspaper. Notify your elected officials. Now is not the time to be quiet.

The post A maternal justice advocate explains how you can help get pregnant women released from ICE detention centers appeared first on HelloGiggles.

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Join Congresswoman Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. for the 2020 Women’s Symposium on the Health of America’s Moms and Babies   (I'm on the panel too yall!!! This is going to be AMAZING!!! JOIN US!) Purpose:  To address the disparities about maternal health outcomes and explore solutions to provide greater access to quality health care for mothers and infants. Event Location:         Johnson C. Smith University, Grimes Lounge  (2nd Floor, Crisp Student Union); 100 Beatties Ford Road Charlotte, NC 28216   Time:       5:30 pm – 8:00 pm 5:30 pm Resource Fair (open before and after the program) 6:00 pm Program Starts (refreshments available #AfricanAmericanDoula #momsrisingnc #BirthingWhileBlack #Momsrising #blackmaternalhealth #MaternalPolitics #MaternalJustice #maternity (at QC SuperMom) https://www.instagram.com/p/B9XM-oxhLUF/?igshid=qaf5jxtere5t