Data Source: Created by the Prison Policy Initiative based on data from Asidou, Beal, and Sufrin (2021), Breastfeeding in Incarcerated Settings in the United States: A National Survey of Frequency and Policies, Breastfeeding Medicine. (Graph: Wendy Sawyer, 2021)

This graph originally appeared in Unsupportive environments and limited policies: Pregnancy, postpartum, and birth during incarceration.

Findings from Asidou et al.’s Breastfeeding in Incarcerated Settings highlight a lack of support for lactation, which might explain why there were so many more postpartum women than women who were actively lactating. While mothers can choose to stop breastfeeding or lactating for a number of reasons, stopping breast milk production suddenly due to jail or prison policy is almost guaranteed to be a painful process that may bring on other medical issues, like mastitis.