‘Teaching us how to grow with our babies’: How prisons allow mothers and infants to nest for months

By: Amanda Watford

Outlets: Stateline

Published: January 9, 2026

Words: 3,252

Last Updated: 2 weeks ago

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VANDALIA, Mo. — Kathy Briggs slipped her arms through the thick straps of a brand-new baby carrier, tugging it over her beige shirt as two other women stood beside her, tightening buckles and adjusting the padded waistband.

The carrier was still stiff from its packaging, and Briggs shifted her feet as one of the women gently lifted then-6-month-old Melody into the front pouch.

Melody’s gray-blue eyes tracked the women’s hands, and her wispy blond hair …

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