The prison experience Elizabeth Holmes is desperate to avoid

On Friday, a US territory justice volition determine whether Elizabeth Holmes, the disgraced laminitis of aesculapian investigating institution Theranos, tin hold the commencement of her 11-year situation condemnation portion she appeals her condemnation - successful portion owed to her 2 young children. Her lawsuit points to what experts accidental is simply a unsighted spot successful the situation system: the regular separation of caller mothers from their babies.

Last week, Angelica Zaragoza sat connected a ample achromatic autobus arsenic it drove 2 hours southbound from Dallas to a women's situation successful Gatesville, Texas. Ms Zaragoza, 44, was joined by a twelve young girls, each travelling to spot their mothers.

Emotions were high, Ms Zaragoza said, a giddy excitement that lasted for the four-hour visit, arranged each period by the Dallas non-profit wherever she works. But erstwhile the clip was up, their sadness acceptable in.

"We had a small girl, it was her archetypal travel and erstwhile we went to permission she says: 'Why can't my mommy travel with me?" Ms Zaragoza said.

Years before, Ms Zaragoza had been the 1 near behind. She was 25 years old, starting an 18-month condemnation successful different Texas jailhouse for cause offences. Soon aft intake, she learned she was 3 months pregnant.

Until she reached her eighth period of pregnancy, Ms Zaragoza remained successful a regular situation unit, sleeping successful a colourless country with a rotating formed of cellmates. She was shuffled to and from wellness check-ups successful shackles, she said, the weights connected her hands and feet straining her swollen body. The shackles stayed connected portion she gave commencement successful a situation aesculapian installation successful Galveston, 1 limb and 1 limb bound to the infirmary furniture astatine each times.

Afterwards, she was fixed 15 minutes to clasp her babe daughter, named Jalyssa, earlier they were separated. They would not conscionable again until her release. Ms Zaragoza's aunt, who agreed to instrumentality attraction of Jalyssa, said the three-hour thrust to the situation was excessively agelong and excessively costly to bring the baby.

"It takes a toll connected a mother," Ms Zaragoza said. "A parent loses her kids, she loses her hope."

As the United States' situation colonisation has climbed, the fig of incarcerated women has surged. In the past 2 decades the fig of women successful fastener up has grown much than 700% - treble the complaint of men. The bulk are mothers, galore azygous mothers and the sole caregivers of young children. They see an estimated 58,000 large women who participate jails and prisons each year.

But experts accidental large prisoners and women who person precocious fixed commencement stay a unsighted spot successful a situation strategy designed for men.

"With the exploding [prison] population, you had an unprecedented fig of women besides entering," said Jill Morrison, a instrumentality prof astatine Georgetown. "But the strategy was not acceptable to accommodate them. I don't deliberation the strategy had immoderate existent involvement successful accommodating them."

In the US, incarcerated radical person a law close to healthcare. But determination are nary mandatory wellness guidelines, and nary nationalist standards for large oregon postpartum prisoners.

"There's nary standardisation and determination is truthful overmuch variability," said Dr Carolyn Sufrin, a gynaecologist and obstetrician, who leads the Pregnancy successful Prison Statistics Project astatine Johns Hopkins University. "Every situation and jailhouse benignant of does its ain thing."

In immoderate places, conditions person improved since Ms Zaragoza gave commencement to her girl successful 2003. Twenty-two states, including Texas, present prohibit the shackling of women during progressive labour and transportation successful astir circumstances. Federal prisons person a akin ban.

And a 4th of US states, including California, Illinois and New York, person authorities prisons with mother-baby units for women who springiness commencement successful situation - fundamentally nurseries wherever babies tin enactment with oregon adjacent their mothers for arsenic agelong arsenic 18 months, a much communal signifier successful countries similar the UK and Canada.

But the immense bulk of American prisoners bash not person this option. The US remains 1 of 4 countries that routinely separates mothers from their newborns, a database that besides includes the Bahamas, Liberia and Suriname.

"In astir cases, women are separated soon aft birth," said Dr Sufrin. Some women volition beryllium allowed to enactment with their babe successful infirmary for up to 3 days aft delivery. But galore volition beryllium rushed backmost to jailhouse "as soon arsenic possible", she said.

And determination is nary situation nursery enactment astatine each for caller mothers similar Holmes, who springiness commencement earlier their condemnation begins.

Nearly 9 retired of 10 fathers successful situation report that their child's parent is the superior caregiver. But for women down bars, astir fractional of whom are azygous mothers, their kid is much apt to beryllium sent to unrecorded with a grandparent.

From there, visits are uncommon and babelike connected some the institution's peculiar rules and the child's caregiver - however often they tin marque what is often a lengthy and costly trip. Many mothers volition not person immoderate in-person visits with their children astatine all.

"It's not similar these visits aren't happening due to the fact that the parents don't privation to spot their children oregon their guardians don't privation them connected," said Brittany Barnett, laminitis of the non-profit Girls Embracing Mothers (Gem), wherever Ms Zaragoza present works. "It's conscionable the region and the cost. People cannot spend to instrumentality disconnected the full time of enactment to marque that trip."

Ms Barnett's ain parent was incarcerated erstwhile she was 22 years old. Speaking to the BBC, she recalled the archetypal sojourn to her parent successful prison, separated from her by a heavy partition of plexiglass. She leaned her forehead against the solid and saw an imprint of a tiny acceptable of lips.

"It conscionable told maine immoderate different younger kid had tried to scope their ain parent earlier me," Ms Barnett said. "Even arsenic a young adult, my mother's incarceration was emotionally, physically, and materially devastating… So however could a kid perchance carnivore this weight?"

The visits were a "survival line", Ms Barnett said, inspiring her to make Gem 10 years ago. The organisation present provides monthly four-hour visits for 25 girls and their mothers successful Texas prisons.

Ms Zaragoza did not find the programme herself until her 3rd and last jailhouse word - 2 years, for failing to wage her probation fees. By past her girl was 10, she said, aged capable to recognize and aged capable to blasted her parent for going away.

"The archetypal mates of visits were hard. She wouldn't talk to me," Ms Zaragoza said. But a fewer months in, Jalyssa began to lukewarm to her parent again.

"She opened the doorway a small spot and we grew from there," Ms Zaragoza said.

In the lawsuit of Elizabeth Holmes, who has not disclosed the property of her 2nd child, experts said her destiny volition remainder connected the discretion of Judge Edward Davila.

After Friday's hearing, helium volition determine whether Holmes tin stay location with her children arsenic she appeals her condemnation oregon study to national situation (the determination is truthful acold undisclosed) connected 27 April. 

"Defendants are sometimes granted a hold for reporting to situation to woody with aesculapian issues, truthful it is imaginable that this petition volition beryllium granted," said Barbara McQuade, a erstwhile US attorney, successful an email to the BBC.

But galore said that an objection oregon hold to her much than 11-year condemnation would people a important interruption from the norm, 1 that whitethorn beryllium linked to Holmes' comparative personage and privilege.

Inmates successful the US are disproportionately radical of colour and poor. Holmes is achromatic and affluent (her husband, edifice heir William Evans, is reportedly worthy $10m (£8.3m)).

A ruling successful Holmes' favour would beryllium "stunning", said Georgetown University's Professor Morrison. "And it surely [would be] an indictment of the system, and however racialised our strategy is if she could extract that benignant of attraction due to the fact that she is truthful precocious profile, erstwhile we cognize that is not the acquisition of hundreds of thousands of different women who are large oregon parenting."

For her part, Ms Zaragoza said a ruling successful Holmes' favour would "infuriate" her.

"We weren't fixed that opportunity. But past again, you've got to deliberation astir it similar this: if they alteration it for her, possibly it could commencement a large aged change."