This article looks at the shift in the gender composition of the Nation’s correctional population, for more than 950,000 females are under correctional supervision, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The shift has been caused by tougher substance abuse sentencing guidelines, economic hardships, and rising violence levels among women. Within the past 20 years, statistics have shown that there has been an increasing trend in the amount of women being arrested, incarcerated, and placed under supervision. The 1990's showed a significant increase in the amount of women being charged for drug and alcohol use, as well as repeat drug offenders. The largest increments of the female inmate population were in the South and West, which doubled over the decade. The number of children with incarcerated parents rose 60 percent in the 1990's. With factors such as, pregnancy, drug and alcohol addiction, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, women’s health care in prison becomes a unique challenge. These problems rise as the female prison population increases. Although the male inmate population remains significantly larger, the female prison population has been escalating at a high rate during the past several years. The larger the increase, the larger these challenges become. References and Statistical Tables