The Lost Mothers Project – reimagining care and justice for incarcerated mothers
The Lost Mothers Project is a pioneering collaboration between the University of Hertfordshire, the charity Birth Companions, and an advisory team of women with lived experience of pregnancy, motherhood, and separation from a baby while in prison. The project brings critical attention to the often-overlooked experiences of incarcerated mothers and the professionals who support them.
Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the project was co-designed with women who had personally navigated early motherhood in prison. It aimed to fill a substantial gap in academic and policy-focused research, seeking to better inform approaches to care, justice, and support.
Investigating lived experiences in women's prisons
Led by Dr Laura Abbott, Associate Professor in Research at the University of Hertfordshire and a midwife, the Lost Mothers team collated and evaluated interviews, observations and staff insight from five women’s prisons in England, to understand the emotional, social and professional challenges faced by both mothers and staff. Key findings highlighted:
- the immense emotional and physical distress experienced by mothers, who reported intense emotional and physical pain from separation
- the inconsistent and often delayed access to Mother and Baby Units (MBUs). Research showed that between 2023 and 2024, only 50 women were admitted to MBUs from 92 applications, with decisions made by multidisciplinary boards that can be late and lack adequate representation for mothers
- systemic failures including significant delays in emotionally impactful decision-making, absence of key professionals, and lack of comprehensive training for staff on the specific needs of incarcerated mothers
- often insufficient support or gaps in support
- the emotional strain on professionals working with these mothers due to inadequate training and resources.
Driving immediate and long-term change for mothers in the CJS
As well as emphasising the urgent need for long-term systemic changes to better support both mothers and professionals, the report makes a series of recommendations to be embedded immediately. These include implementing well-supported community alternatives to incarceration for pregnant women and new mothers. Adopting trauma-informed and compassionate responses throughout the CJS. Providing comprehensive, consistent training and support for staff working with incarcerated mothers and inclusive decision-making that ensures decisions about mother and baby separations are made with timely input from all relevant professionals and with adequate legal representation for mothers.
Our findings, published in this new Lost Mothers report, reveal the deep, emotional toll, and the profound, visceral pain brought about by the compulsory separation of mothers and babies in prison. They also highlight how inadequate systems, inconsistent decision-making, staff shortages and lack of training exacerbate the trauma of this uniquely traumatic experience, for a cohort of women known to already have significant and complex needs stemming from poverty, abuse, racism, inequality and disadvantage.
The report ultimately underscores that prison is not a safe or appropriate place for pregnant women, mothers, or infants, and that the harm and distress caused to mothers and babies by the prison system and the experience of separation are severe and disproportionate. We are now calling for an ambitious new approach to pregnancy, birth, and early motherhood across the CJS to avoid unnecessary separations and improve outcomes for mothers and children.
Dr Laura Abbott,
Associate Professor in Research at the University of Hertfordshire, lead researcher on The Lost Mothers Project
Creating a powerful storytelling moment
The University was honoured to host the debut performance of a powerful new play inspired by the lived experiences of motherhood behind bars, written by acclaimed playwright Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti and performed by women with first-hand experience of the justice system.
It’s time for radical action. Our justice system must begin to view mothers and pregnant women as human beings with complex needs and aspirations, not as problems to be solved or dismissed. Through this play, we shed light on their resilience, their pain, and their hope – stories that are too often silenced within the confines of institutions. By rethinking how we approach justice for these women, we have the opportunity to create a system that values humanity and fosters dignity, instead of perpetuating cycles of harm. This change is not just necessary; it is long overdue.
Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti,
Playwright
After a tour of venues around the UK, the play was staged at the House of Commons in July 2025, bringing the voices of the project to an audience of influential lawmakers.
The Lost Mothers Project is a powerful example of how lived experience, rigorous research, and creative expression can converge to drive policy reform and social change. It advocates for a justice system that centres care, dignity, and compassion - transforming not only outcomes for incarcerated mothers and their children, but the wider systems that shape their lives.
Find out more about the Lost Mothers Project or read the full report on the Birth Companions website.
Doctor Abbott
Associate Professor in Research
Laura is a dedicated qualitative researcher with a strong committment to making a difference in the lives of incarcerated pregnant women and mothers. Her research has focused on experiences of pregnancy and early parenthood in prison and expanded into various facets of midwifery, sociology and criminology. Laura has made significant contributions to the academic field with multiple international peer reviewed publications, book chapters in collected volumes and an edited book. She has provided expertise to government bodies, contributing to policy development and frequently delivering keynote speeches. Laura is experienced in engaging with media organisations and has made contributions to national radio and television. Laura is the Principal Investigator leading the ESRC funded Lost Mothers Project in collaboration with the charity Birth Companions and their lived experience team. She is a fellow of The Royal College of Midwives and holds registrations as a nurse and a midwife ensuring her research is deeply rooted in practical experience. Laura is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and an experienced Masters and PhD supervisor.