Lost Mothers': How Women and Professionals Involved with the Criminal Justice System Experience Enforced Separation of Newborn Babies

Why was the research needed?

Around 200 pregnant women are imprisoned in the UK each year, with an estimated 100 babies born to incarcerated mothers. Although six Mother and Baby Units operate across the women's prison estate, little is known about the experiences of mothers who are separated from their newborn babies. Existing research suggests that enforced separation can cause profound loss, trauma, mental distress, suicidal thoughts and disrupted bonding. Many women in prison have experienced poverty, abuse, trauma or addiction, yet there is no standardised guidance to support mothers through separation at birth. This research addresses an important gap in understanding the experiences of women and professionals involved in the separation of newborn babies within the criminal justice system.

What did we do?

The Lost Mothers' Project explored how enforced separation from a newborn baby is experienced by mothers involved in the criminal justice system. Through interviews with women with lived experience and professionals from social work, health visiting, midwifery and criminal justice, we examined the emotional, psychological and practical consequences of separation, as well as policy, practice and support provision before and after birth.

As the first project to bring together these professions with the experiences of women who had been in prison at the heart of the research, the study sought to improve understanding of the effects of mandatory separation. 

What did we find? 

The study identified inconsistencies in policy and practice and highlighted significant gaps in perinatal, postnatal and post-release support for mothers separated from their babies while in contact with the criminal justice system. It also revealed a lack of support for imprisoned mothers and contributed to national discussions on maternal care in prisons, including recognition of maternal separation as a safeguarding concern.

How did we work with communities, services and organisations?

The ethos of the Lost Mothers project is rooted in genuine collaboration with people who have lived experience, whose involvement has been central from the very beginning. Women with lived experience helped shape the project at every stage, including co-designing the project's title and logo, developing research questions and contributing to the analysis. Reimbursing participants for their time, childcare and travel was an essential part of the project, recognising the value of their contributions, reducing barriers to involvement and supporting an equitable approach to research.

Through interviews and a lived experience group, women continued to shape and inform the study throughout. We also worked with professionals from social work, health visiting, midwifery, criminal justice and Birth Companions to better understand the experiences of mothers separated from their newborn babies and identify opportunities to improve support. By bringing together people with lived experience, practitioners and researchers, the project created a space for shared learning, collaboration and discussion. We have continued these partnerships through our work with Clean Break and Firebird Collective to bring the research to wider audiences through creative outputs.

What will the impact and benefits of this research be? 

The project has generated significant academic, policy and public impact. Findings have been shared with policymakers, inspectorates and practitioners, including HM Inspectorate of Prisons and the Care Quality Commission, contributing to greater recognition of maternal separation as a critical perinatal, mental health and safeguarding issue. The research has also underpinned successful creative knowledge-exchange outputs, including Scenes from Lost Mothers, which has been widely praised for its powerful translation of research and lived experience into an accessible and emotionally truthful format. Building on this success, a feature film informed by the research is now in development, supported through ESRC IAA Impact Accelerator funding and NIHR ARC East of England.

The quality and impact of the Lost Mothers Project have been recognised through a Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Research Excellence (2025) and the Criminal Justice Alliance Award for Research Excellence, which the project won. Academic publications arising from the research are under review, alongside policy briefings and practitioner-facing outputs.

Next steps include continued dissemination of findings through policy engagement, practitioner training and public-facing work, alongside further research examining post-release experiences, long-term outcomes for separated mothers and babies, and alternatives to separation. There is strong interest from stakeholders in further thematic work and follow-on research in this area. We currently in partnership with Clean Break working on a short film funded through ESRC IAA money, NIHR ARC East of England and Firebird Collective. 

How will we share and apply the findings? 

The project has produced a number of reports that capture the learning from the research and share recommendations for policy, practice and support. The findings have the potential to inform systemic reform, including proposals for a “1001 Days Impact Assessment” and more consistent trauma-informed practice across the criminal justice system.

Findings will continue to be shared through reports, academic publications, policy briefings, practitioner training and public-facing activities. The research has also been translated into creative outputs, including the UK-wide play Scenes from Lost Mothers, with a short film currently in development to help reach wider audiences and support continued discussion about the experiences of mothers separated from their babies.