If you’re pregnant in jail or prison, this probably isn’t how you imagined getting ready for your baby. You may have seen the news coverage showing how inconsistent and at times dangerous medical care can be for pregnant women in county jails. That reality is real, and it’s okay to feel scared or unsure about what comes next.
What you may not know is that even from inside, you still have the right to choose adoption for your baby, and you still have a say in your child’s future. You can choose an open adoption, which lets you pick the adoptive parents and stay connected to your child as they grow.
This information is educational and doesn’t replace legal advice. If you need help understanding your rights while incarcerated, the ACLU National Prison Project and legal aid attorneys in your state can help.
Table of Contents
- You Have a Say in Your Child’s Future
- Know Your Rights While Pregnant in Custody
- Choosing Adoption for Your Baby
- A Birth Mother’s Story: Choosing Adoption From Prison
- Open Adoption
- Adoption for Your Child and Keeping Siblings Together
- Let Lifetime Help As You Determine Your Baby’s Future
- Frequently Asked Questions
- How Do I Get Started With Adoption if I’m Pregnant in Jail?
You Have a Say in Your Child’s Future
You may feel like a lot of things are outside of your control right now, but you can still take control of your child’s future. Open adoption gives you the opportunity to choose adoptive parents and provide your baby with a bright future.
The adoption process for a woman giving birth in prison is basically the same as it is for any other woman. Lifetime Adoption can help you create a plan that fits your situation. Read on to learn how to make an adoption plan from jail.
Know Your Rights While Pregnant in Custody
Being pregnant in jail doesn’t mean giving up your rights to safe medical care or respectful treatment. Federal law limits or bans the use of restraints on pregnant women during labor, delivery, and recovery. A growing number of state laws do the same.
As of 2025, roughly 40 states have passed some form of anti-shackling protection. However, the specifics and enforcement vary widely. This state-by-state anti-shackling law and resource table from the Advocacy and Research on Reproductive Wellness of Incarcerated People shows what protections exist where you’re incarcerated, along with contact information for your state ACLU chapter.
The ACLU National Prison Project has worked since 1972 to improve medical and mental health care for incarcerated people nationwide and can be a resource if you believe someone is violating your rights.
For family members trying to support a pregnant loved one in custody or for information on staying connected to a child while incarcerated, the National Resource Center on Children and Families of the Incarcerated (NRCCFI) at Rutgers University maintains a directory of state and national programs.
Choosing Adoption for Your Baby
Your prison caseworker will work closely with Lifetime Adoption to help you create an adoption plan that fits your situation. Your plan will include choosing a family for your baby and deciding how things will go when you deliver.
By choosing adoption, you can avoid having your baby placed in the foster care system. Instead, your baby will go home with the adoptive parents you’ve chosen as soon as the hospital discharges you.
A U.S. Marshal, Transportation Sergeant, or Transporting Correctional Officer will transport you to a nearby hospital to give birth. Depending on your situation, you may be able to interact with the adoptive family at the hospital. You can control who is present during delivery and who holds and feeds your baby first. Some birth mothers choose to have the adoptive mother present so the adoptive couple can start bonding with their baby right away.
A Birth Mother’s Story: Choosing Adoption From Prison
Every woman’s story looks a little different, but the weight of the decision is something many incarcerated birth mothers share. Kelly placed her daughter for adoption while serving a five-year sentence later wrote about holding her newborn and realizing the hardest choice was still ahead of her. She knew she loved her daughter too much to let her grow up in the fallout of a prison sentence. Kelly decided her daughter deserved the same stability and happy childhood she herself had been given.
She described the process as emotionally heavy, but said her agency eased some of that weight by sending her a stack of profile books from hopeful adoptive families to look through. If a family didn’t feel right, she could send the book back and request more.
Kelly eventually narrowed her choice to two couples and made her final decision after opening one couple’s book and laughing at the very first page. They looked so genuinely happy that she knew right away it was the right family for her daughter. Read her full story on HuffPost.
Open Adoption
Your adoption professional will help you put together a Post-Adoption Contact Agreement so you know the family you chose loves and cares for them. This means you can receive updates and pictures of your baby as they grow, so you know they’re loved and cared for by the family you chose.
If you don’t have an adoption plan in place, the state will take your baby into custody. You can reunite with your child once you’re released, but there’s no guarantee. The Department of Social Services determines whether reunification is possible. Without a plan, your child could spend years in foster care, or a family you didn’t choose could adopt your child. That’s why it matters to make a plan while you’re still pregnant.
Adoption for Your Child and Keeping Siblings Together
Adoption is still an option whether you’re currently incarcerated or about to start serving a sentence. Foster care doesn’t let you choose where your child goes, and there’s no guarantee foster care will keep siblings together.
Lifetime Adoption does not separate siblings. Your Adoption Coordinator will help you find a family open to sibling groups and will make sure both children are adopted together into one loving home.
Let Lifetime Help As You Determine Your Baby’s Future
At Lifetime Adoption, you’ll find caring, non-judgmental coordinators who will walk you through the process and help you find a family that wants nothing more than to give your child a wonderful home.
Our adoptive families go through an extensive screening process, including background and financial checks, health screenings, interviews, and home visits, so you can trust that the family you choose will welcome your child into a safe, warm home.
Depending on your facility’s security rules, you may or may not have internet access, so we can mail you printed profile booklets to review. You can make arrangements with your caseworker to speak with the family you choose.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a pregnant woman in jail or prison place her baby for adoption?
Yes. Incarcerated women retain the legal right to make an adoption plan for their baby, and the process works essentially the same way as it does for any other expectant mother.
Who transports a pregnant inmate to the hospital to give birth?
A U.S. Marshal, Transportation Sergeant, or Transporting Correctional Officer typically transports a pregnant woman in custody to a nearby hospital for delivery.
Will I be shackled while giving birth in jail?
Federal law and roughly 40 state laws limit or prohibit shackling pregnant women during labor, delivery, and recovery, though protections and enforcement vary by state and facility.
What happens to my baby if I don’t make an adoption plan while incarcerated?
Without an adoption plan, the state takes custody of the baby, and reunification after release is possible but not guaranteed.
Can I choose the adoptive family from prison?
Yes. Lifetime Adoption can mail printed family profile booklets if you don’t have internet access, and your caseworker can arrange a call with the family you choose.
Will my adopted child’s siblings be placed together?
Yes. Lifetime Adoption does not separate siblings and will match sibling groups with a single adoptive family.
How Do I Get Started With Adoption if I’m Pregnant in Jail?
Call Lifetime Adoption at 1-800-923-6784. If you need help placing a call, ask the chaplain or clinic staff for help. Our adoption professionals are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Your coordinator will work with you and your prison caseworker to put together your adoption plan.
You can tell your coordinator what matters to you in an adoptive family, like religious preferences, location, or anything else. Choosing open adoption during this difficult time is a loving gift to your child and to an adoptive couple hoping to become parents. It puts you in the driver’s seat, knowing the adoptive family will keep your child safe, love them, and take care of them.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on August 17, 2018, and has since been updated.
Mardie Caldwell, C.O.A.P., is nationally recognized as an expert on open adoption. A Certified Open Adoption Practitioner (C.O.A.P.), Caldwell is the founder of Lifetime Adoption Center, established in 1986. She has assisted in over 2,000 successful adoptions and was one of the first adoption professionals on the Internet.
Caldwell's life work is dedicated to educating and helping birth parents find the right adoptive parents for their child. She spreads the word about modern adoption through speaking appearances, webinars, online resources, and as a podcast show host.
She has written several award-winning books, including So I Was Thinking About Adoption, the first book of its kind. There are many reasons women choose adoption, and this short book is a comprehensive resource to make the best plan for you and your baby. Caldwell wrote So I Was Thinking About Adoption as a handy guide to the details of the adoption process.
Caldwell has made over 150 media appearances, including ABC News, CBS News, Larry King Live, CNN Headline News, NBC's The Today Show, CNN's The Campbell Brown Show, NBC News, KGO Newstalk Radio, CNN's Black in America II, MSNBC, Fox, PBS, BBC, and Dr. Laura.
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