Hand and leg restraints can be used on inmates being taken to local hospitals from Bedford Hills for delivery, with the approval of both prison and medical personnel. Waist shackles are prohibited on those women in any case. State Department of Correctional Services officials do not comment on pending legislation. Officials could not say how many inmates give birth each year in New York, but about 10 percent of the women entering the prison system are found to be pregnant. The maternity ward at Bedford Hills has a capacity of 32 babies while Taconic's can accommodate 23.
Babies can stay for up to a year with their mothers in the prison maternity wards.
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