Imprisoned mothers are at increased risk for poor psychological health and psychological distress when separated from their children, so staff need to be highly skilled to support the women. However, there is a paucity of research focusing on staff experiences around sensitive issues such as mother-child separation. This study aimed to understand the challenges facing staff and how these might be addressed. This qualitative interview study explored the views and experiences of 24 prison-based staff in England working with female prisoners separated from their infants. Staff emphasised the challenges of working with separated mothers, specifically the emotional impact of this work, and the impact of the wider criminal justice system on their sense of agency. A focus on the experience of separation highlights the broader problem of incarcerating women in general. Reducing the number of mother-child separations would mitigate the impact on both women and staff.

中文翻译：

---

不知所措和无能为力：工作人员对英国监狱中母亲与婴儿分离的看法

被监禁的母亲与子女分开生活时，其心理健康和心理困扰的风险增加，因此工作人员需要具备高技能来支持妇女。但是，很少有研究集中在员工对诸如母子分离之类的敏感问题的经验上。这项研究旨在了解员工面临的挑战以及如何解决这些挑战。这项定性访谈研究探索了英格兰24名监狱工作人员与婴儿分开的女囚一起工作的观点和经验。工作人员强调了与分居母亲一起工作所面临的挑战，特别是这项工作的情感影响，以及更广泛的刑事司法制度对其代理意识的影响。对分居经历的关注突出了一般情况下将妇女监禁的广泛问题。减少母子离职的数量将减轻对妇女和工作人员的影响。