Nearly 75,000 women are entering prison in the US each year and up to 10% are pregnant when they enter. A staggering 7,500 babies are born behind bars each year in the US. In most cases, babies are separated from their mothers immediately after birth. However, there are a handful of states where for the betterment of the infant (studies show enormous health and developmental benefits accrue when babies bond strongly with mothers in their formative years) and the reduction of recidivism by nearly 50%, the pregnant inmate can keep her baby and raise it behind prison walls. Currently there are 8 experimental prison nursery programs nationwide of this kind and we have exclusive access to one of them. Indiana Women’s Prison is a maximum security prison that runs the controversial Wee Ones program on Unit 7 of the prison complex.

Across the 10 serialized hours of “Babies Behind Bars,” we will follow the interweaving stories of 4 to 5 inmates, each of whom is at a different stage of the 18 month program. Some will be entering the program just before giving birth, some will be about halfway through the program, and some will be coming to the end of the program. All will be struggling to play by the rules and remain in this ZERO TOLERANCE program while fighting for a better life for themselves and their babies. We’ll also follow the inmate, the nannies, and the tough-love prison guards in whose hands the futures of these incarcerated mothers are entrusted.