Black Welfare Moms-to-be in Cook County Jail focus of TV series

Being pregnant comes with its own challenges. Expecting while incarcerated takes things to a whole different level. A two-part series focusing on women in this situation, “Pregnant Behind Bars,” begins airing tonight on the Discovery Fit & Health channel. It will look at the emotional and psychological as well as physical impact prison has on a woman’s pregnancy. The women featured are all inmates at Cook County Jail and are being held in Division 17, a separate treatment wing there. While this keeps the pregnant prisoners out of the general population, the division also houses women with addiction and mental health issues and that brings its own set of stresses for the mothers-to-be. Expecting a child makes these women look at their situations in new ways. The show will air at 9 p.m.