36 v) social and family ties 63. The health care service may also help to limit the disruption of social and family ties which usually goes hand in hand with imprisonment. It should support - in association with the relevant social services - measures that foster prisoners' contacts with the outside world, such as properly-equipped visiting areas, family or spouse/partner visits under appropriate conditions, and leaves in family, occupational, educational and socio-cultural contexts. According to the circumstances, a prison doctor may take action in order to obtain the grant or continued payment of social insurance benefits to prisoners and their families. e. Humanitarian assistance 64. Certain specific categories of particularly vulnerable prisoners can be identified. Prison health care services should pay especial attention to their needs. i) mother and child 65. It is a generally accepted principle that children should not be born in prison, and the CPT's experience is that this principle is respected. 66. A mother and child should be allowed to stay together for at least a certain period of time. If the mother and child are together in prison, they should be placed in conditions providing them with the equivalent of a creche and the support of staff specialised in post-natal care and nursery nursing. Long-term arrangements, in particular the transfer of the child to the community, involving its separation from its mother, should be decided on in each individual case in the light of pedo-psychiatric and medico-social opinions. ii) adolescents 67. Adolescence is a period marked by a certain reorganisation of the personality, requiring a special effort to reduce the risks of long-term social maladjustment. While in custody, adolescents should be allowed to stay in a fixed place, surrounded by personal objects and in socially favourable groups. The regime applied to them should be based on intensive activity, including socio-educational meetings, sport, education, vocational training, escorted outings and the availability of appropriate optional activities.