A growing number of women are facing criminal charges for substance use during pregnancy in Oklahoma. Experts and health care providers say that’s bad for moms and babies.
Mental Health
"My name is Uma. I am a domestic violence survivor, and this is my story."
The pandemic has brought into sharp focus what has been called the shadow pandemic: the staggering rise of domestic violence incidents across the world.
There's a pressing need for LA’s Office of Diversion and Reentry to scale up its diversion capacity for moms, but so far the money to do so hasn’t been there.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic pain and heart issues now plague David Chenault and he is required to see a list of specialists, but none of them are in that part of the Delta.
Dr. Valencia Andrew-Pirtle began working in Blytheville more than 20 years ago as a family medicine specialist and, over time, she has learned the most dangerous disease Mississippi County faces is one she wouldn't have thought about decades ago.
This story as part of the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism’s 2021 California Fellowship.
In recent years, there have been efforts to increase other competency restoration alternatives – like jail-based or outpatient methods – but for some people, those options are not always available.
Moms talk about what it’s like to be pregnant in jail, and about their lives before and after incarceration.
“Grandma was in the system and now Mom is in the system and now the child is in the system … How can we expect our community members to even start healing?”