To make matters worse, it was only after waiting in A&E for treatment for several hours, without knowing if her baby was okay, that the doctor finally told Suzy and the officers there was no early pregnancy unit at the hospital.
Suzy now works with Level Up, a campaign group that fights for gender justice in the UK, and says the dangers facing incarcerated mothers and babies show that the prison systems cannot provide a safe place for them.
‘To go to A&E, you need two officers to be present with you, which meant they had to find officers who would agree to go,’ she explains.
Her baby Aisha was born in the early hours of September 27, 2019 after two calls to prison staff from her mum went unanswered.
I didn’t even know what was wrong with me or my baby, yet I was being told that it was probably better that I wasn’t pregnant at all,’ remembers Suzy.
