Motherhood and Incarceration in Chile: A Feminist-Critical Dialogue Between Literature and Practice

This article examines motherhood in Chilean prisons through a feminist-criminological lens, placing academic and gray literature in dialogue with the perspectives of professionals from EnMarcha, a Chilean NGO that works directly with incarcerated mothers, infants, and caregivers. Combining a scoping review with a situated listening exercise, the study identifies convergences around structural barriers to maternal health, bonding, and psychosocial support, while exposing gaps in how care transitions are managed when children leave prison at age two. Findings highlight the invisibility of caregivers, the fragility of the mother–child bond, and the need to reconceptualize release as a rights-based process requiring intersectoral responses.