Exciting update. Thank you to all who have signed and donated to my petition, showing overwhelming support for stopping pregnant women being imprisoned.  I’m writing because I need your support again.  

1.     27 September will mark 4 years since the death of baby Aisha at Bronzefield prison where Rianna Cleary was left to give birth alone, with no medical help. There will be a vigil for baby Aisha, organised by No Births Behind Bars, taking place outside the Ministry of Justice, London on Wednesday 27 September between 4-6pm. I will be attending, and it would be great if you can too. 

2.     Campaign group, Level Up, who are supporting Rianna Cleary, are collecting messages of support for her via their website.  It’s a powerful way to let her know we haven’t forgotten what happened to her. Can you write a message of support?  

3.     Please also continue to share my petition.   
As a nurse I am concerned about equality of healthcare for all.  Specialist care is not available in prison. In the past year alone, 50 births took place in prisons despite tragic cases such as Rhianna Cleary, and Louise Powell who gave birth in a different prison, without medical assistance, to a baby named Brooke who also sadly died.    
Overcrowded with inadequate staffing, untrained and unqualified staff, and lack of health care facilities, prisons can never be safe places for pregnant women.  Pregnant women in prison are 7 times more likely to suffer a stillbirth and almost twice as likely to give birth prematurely.  
The majority of pregnant women are there for short sentences, and the most common offence among pregnant women is shoplifting. Eleven countries have laws against the imprisonment of pregnant women, and it’s time the UK to do the same.  
 If we keep up the pressure we can end the imprisonment of pregnant women.