Formerly incarcerated Georgia women speak about pregnancy behind bars

Caption

Tiana Hill testified about her experience being pregnant in Clayton County Jail.

Credit: Screenshot from committee livestream

Women from Georgia spoke about their experiences being pregnant and giving birth while incarcerated at Sen. Jon Ossoff’s  Atlanta hearing of the Senate Committee on Human Rights.

Tiana Hill was pregnant while held in the Clayton County Jail for seven months, finally giving birth.

She testified that guards at the facility denied she was pregnant, and she received no prenatal care. She told the committee she gave birth in the infirmary on a metal bed with no privacy from other inmates.

“They were just standing at the door looking," Hill said. "And I'm stuck naked with my legs wide open. I felt faint, like I was going to pass out, but I could see these people around me. My baby was born premature in my panties."

Hill says her baby died five days after he was born and she was given no explanation or information on his remains. She was placed in solitary confinement under suicide watch after she gave birth. 

The Clayton County Sheriff's Office did not provide a comment on Hill’s experience. 

Tabatha Trammell was pregnant while incarcerated in Georgia 40 years ago. She testified guards refused to provide enough food for pregnant detainees. 

“The guards took out their frustrations on us if we asked about the times that the snacks should be given out, or if the food was delayed — and it was often delayed — which is torture when you're eating for two,” she said. 

Trammell now runs a nonprofit that helps ease the transition from jail to society for incarcerated women. She said that pregnant women in jail she serves face similar issues today. 

The hearing was part of a series of hearings Ossoff is holding to investigate the treatment of pregnant women in prison.