CPT: 10TH GENERAL REPORT 15 One particularly problematic issue in this context is whether - and, if so, for how long - it should be possible for babies and young children to remain in prison with their mothers. This is a difficult question to answer given that, on the one hand, prisons clearly do not provide an appropriate environment for babies and young children while, on the other hand, the forcible separation of mothers and infants is highly undesirable. 31. The specific hygiene needs of women should be addressed in an adequate manner. Ready access to sanitary and washing facilities, safe disposal arrangements for blood-stained articles, as well as provision of hygiene items, such as sanitary towels and tampons, are of particular importance. 29. In the view of the CPT, the governing principle in all cases must be the welfare of the child. This implies in particular that any ante and post natal care provided in custody should be equivalent to that available in the outside community. Where babies and young children are held in custodial settings, their treatment should be supervised by specialists in social work and child development. The goal should be to produce a child-centred environment, free from the visible trappings of incarceration, such as uniforms and jangling keys. 32. It is also essential that the health care provided to persons deprived of their liberty be of a standard equivalent to that enjoyed by patients in the outside community. Arrangements should also be made to ensure that the movement and cognitive skills of babies held in prison develop normally. In particular, they should have adequate play and exercise facilities within the prison and, wherever possible, the opportunity to leave the establishment and experience ordinary life outside its walls. Moreover, to the extent that preventive health care measures of particular relevance to women, such as screening for breast and cervical cancer, are available in the outside community, they should also be offered to women deprived of their liberty. Facilitating child-minding by family members outside the establishment can also help to ensure that the burden of child-rearing is shared (for example, by the child’s father). Where this is not possible, consideration should be given to providing access to creche-type facilities. Such arrangements can enable women prisoners to participate in work and other activities inside the prison to a greater extent than might otherwise be possible. Hygiene and health issues 30. The Committee also wishes to call attention to a number of hygiene and health issues in respect of which the needs of women deprived of their liberty differ significantly from those of men. The failure to provide such basic necessities can amount, in itself, to degrading treatment. Insofar as women deprived of their liberty are concerned, ensuring that this principle of equivalence of care is respected will require that health care is provided by medical practitioners and nurses who have specific training in women's health issues, including in gynaecology. Equivalence of care also requires that a woman's right to bodily integrity should be respected in places of detention as in the outside community. Thus, where the so-called "morning after" pill and/or other forms of abortion at later stages of a pregnancy are available to women who are free, they should be available under the same conditions to women deprived of their liberty. 33. As a matter of principle, prisoners who have begun a course of treatment before being incarcerated should be able to continue it once detained. In this context, efforts should be made to ensure that adequate supplies of specialist medication required by women are available in places of detention. As regards, more particularly, the contraceptive pill, it should be recalled that this medication may be prescribed for medical reasons other than preventing conception (e.g. to alleviate painful menstruation). The fact that a woman's incarceration may - in itself - greatly diminish the likelihood of conception while detained is not a sufficient reason to withhold such medication.