Photographs by Shaul Schwarz / Getty Images for Newsweek
A prison might sound like an odd place for a baby, but the Indiana Women’s Prison nursery is one of seven to open since the late 1990s. Studies have shown that allowing newborns to live with their mothers in jail—as opposed to being separated within 72 hours of birth, standard practice in states without nurseries—benefits children and reduces recidivism among offenders. Here, several mothers in the program gathered in front of a nursery rhyme–themed mural in the special wing’s common room, waiting with their babies for a weekly parenting class to begin. (March 2009)
