Until We End Prison Birth
We will support families through it with advanced doula care.
We can all have a role in reducing harm to families separated after giving birth in prison.
When a baby is born in prison, the first moments of life are often marked by separation. This loss affects both parent and child, shaping futures in ways that last far beyond the walls. By understanding the impact and working together for change, we can support families in staying connected, building resilience, and imagining a different beginning.
At Ostara Initiative, we believe transformation is possible. Through research, advocacy, and shared vision, we invite you to see not just what is, but what could be — until prison birth ends.
❊ Explore The Vision
Change begins with renewed vision
See what’s possible when we cast a new vision for ending prison birth and strengthening families.
Vision For New Ideas
Hear from Erica Gerrity, a certified prison doula, licensed clinical social worker, and the Executive Director of Ostara Initiative on how prison doulas improve outcomes for families navigating prison birth.
Vision For New Options
Hear from Chauntel Norris on how she casts new vision for reducing the harms of mother-baby separations as an advanced prison doula, certified lactation consultant, and Program Director of the Alabama Prison Birth Project.
Vision For New Endings
Hear Tommy Franklin’s story, a writer, artist, filmmaker, and Ostara Board Member, who learned later in life about his birth story to a mother who was incarcerated.
❊ Already A Doula? Help Empower Change
Join An Advanced Prison Doula Training
We believe doulas can make a tremendous impact on changing the impact that prison birth and separation can have on incarcerated mothers, parents, and babies. If you’re a trained and experienced doula who is interested in creating a direct services program to incarcerated parents in your area, you are eligible for our Advanced Prison Doula Training and Certification pathway. Learn more about our trainings and your opportunities to join our next one!
❊ Training Feedback
Hear what others have said about our training:
The MNPDP training in Alabama was a transformative experience in many ways. From the meaningful, lasting connections I made to the tools I was able to bring back to my community, it continues to have a real impact both on my personal growth and in the work I do with people who are incarcerated.
— Rebecca M., Parent
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Participating in the prison doula training through the Ostara Initiative was a deeply grounding experience for BirthRoot Community Doula's team. The training helped us understand how to work more effectively and efficiently within systems that were explicitly designed to dehumanize us—and how to still hold space for compassion, dignity, and advocacy in the midst of them. We learned the importance of maintaining access to the prison while standing firm in our values, ensuring that incarcerated birthing people receive consistent, culturally rooted care and genuine support.
— Tica, Participant
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❊ Prison Doula Programs
Explore Where We Serve
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The Minnesota Prison Doula Project offers comprehensive pregnancy support from trained doulas and group and individual education and support to justice-involved, pregnant people and parents. The goals are to nurture healthy parent-child relationships, increase parenting confidence and skills, reduce the intergenerational trauma of incarceration, and increase access to opportunities that build health, healing, and change.
Learn More | Minnesota Prison Doula Project
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With the mission to improve the health of infants born to incarcerated mothers and strengthen maternal bonds, the APBP team works inside Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women to provide nutritious foods, create a micro-community of birthing women using doula support and education groups, and facilitate access to breast milk for infants born to incarcerated mothers.
Learn More | Alabama Prison Birth Project
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In the Constitution of United States of America, the 8th Amendment states, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” The goal of project EightA is to explore and create new patterns of thought, policy, and practice pertaining to justice-involved women and their children that are constitutionally-aligned and rooted in human rights-based standards. Several projects are incubated in eightA, including our collaboration with research partners, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Oregon Prison Birth Project, and the Wisconsin Prison Birth Project.
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The Oregon Prison Birth Project began with a commitment to providing compassionate care for incarcerated pregnant women. Inspired by similar programs and supported by the passage of Oregon House Bill 2535 in 2023, the Oregon Prison Birth Project now brings essential doula services to prisons, ensuring dignity and support during childbirth.
Follow @oregonprisonbirthproject on social media to learn more about our work, support our mission, and help amplify the voices of those we serve.
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Launched in 2025, the Wisconsin Prison Birth Project (WPBP) of the Ostara Initiative supports pregnant and postpartum people in Wisconsin’s correctional system. Led by doulas and advocates with lived experience, the program offers prenatal education, birth and postpartum support, lactation assistance, and parenting groups. Rooted in trauma-informed and culturally responsive care, the WPBP works to uphold dignity, improve health outcomes, and strengthen family bonds for incarcerated parents and their children.
❊ Our Story & Our Mission
The Ostara Initiative is women-founded and women-led, and our goal is to end prison birth in America.
Together as one organization, we share and spread what we have learned from our decade of work inside facilities, raise authentic voices and leaders among those directly impacted, and incubate innovation and change, inside and outside our nation’s criminal justice system.