It's nearly impossible to be a good mother when you're stuck behind bars.
For incarcerated mothers around the world, the best they can hope for are nursury programs, which let children live with their mothers while they're young. Beyond that they are limited to occasional visits.
There are few provisions for mothers in prison in the U.S., where more than 120,000 imprisoned women have children under 18, according to a 2010 Pew Research report. Only nine states in the U.S. have prison nurseries.
Photos of mothers behind bars around the world were collected in a recent Reuters photo series.
A prison in Lima, Peru opened a new nursery this month to offer better care for the 40 children there who are allowed to stay with their imprisoned mothers until they turn 3.
Research has shown prison nursery programs prevent developmental issues caused by a baby's early separation from its mother. Mothers involved in these programs also commit fewer disciplinary violations.
Here in Peru, the majority of women in prison are serving time for drug-related offenses. Research suggests this is true in other countries as well, including the U.S.
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