One of the ValueTale series of books my 6- and 4-year-olds enjoy depicts the story of real-life prison reformer Elizabeth Gurney Fry. Fry was a Quaker woman who initiated prison reform for the women and children living in Newgate Prison in the early 1800s.
Fast forward 200 years. What are the conditions like in the women’s prisons near you today? What would Elizabeth Fry think of a prison system that separates mothers and children without provision for breastfeeding babies? Remember how Olympic athlete Marion Jones had to wean her baby before she began to serve her prison sentence? What if she …read more

Olympic sprinter Marion Jones is due to report to federal prison by March 11. Many of you shared your opinions about her prison sentence and the impact on her breastfed infant. Breastfeeding may be taken into account as a factor in federal sentencing proceedings, and I was disappointed that it seemed not to weigh into the judge’s decision in that case.
A news story out of Australia made me think more about taking breastfeeding into account in prison sentencing. A woman stabbed her mother three times during an argument and was originally sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail to be …read more

Was anyone else saddened to read about the prison sentence for Olympic athlete and breastfeeding mother Marion Jones? I certainly do not condone doping, lying, or the breaking of any law, and I don’t think she should escape punishment in some form. But I cried, thinking of the nursling, as I read this article in the LA Times:
“I absolutely realize the gravity of the offenses I’ve committed, and I am deeply sorry,” [Jones] said. She began to cry as she pleaded with the judge to not separate her from her 4-year-old son and 7-month-old baby, whom she is still nursing.
The …read more