Commensurate with the increased adolescent pregnancy rate, women entering prison pregnant or with young children has increased. Such women had experienced child abuse, neglect, and abandonment as children. Many were only 13 or 14 years old when they had their first child, and they now have teenage daughters who are themselves mothers or pregnant. Young minority girls are having babies at a higher rate than young white girls in the penal system. Minorities also have a much higher rate of miscarriages and abortions. Early pregnancy precipitates dropping out of school, which in turn reduces the opportunity for skilled employment and makes dependence on public assistance likely. The percentage of young mothers in the juvenile justice system is high. Corrections services should ensure that there is opportunity for female inmates to interact with their children and develop a parent-child bond. Children's centers at prisons are attempting to meet this need.