ICE stopped publicly reporting pregnancy outcomes in detention after October 2025 — but before the reporting ended, roughly 498 pregnant, postpartum, or nursing people had been detained, with at least 16 miscarriages documented. Martha D. Alguera, a birth doula and immigrant rights organizer in New Orleans, walks through what detention does to pregnancy — limited prenatal care, restraints, poor nutrition — the policy changes that weakened oversight, and what doulas, clinicians, and advocates can do about it.

Martha D. Alguera is an Indigenous Latina immigrant and lifelong New Orleanian with over two decades of experience building community power across the U.S. South. She currently serves as Digital Organizer and Communications Lead for the Southeast Dignity Not Detention Coalition, where she built the coalition's bilingual communications infrastructure and leads digital strategies mobilizing communities affected by ICE detention. As founder of Voces Unidas: Louisiana Immigrant Rights Coalition, she led post-release rapid response for immigrants exiting ICE facilities, coordinating transportation, housing, legal support, and mutual aid. She recently co-founded Matriz y Mar, a project supporting women, children, and Trans community members.A birth doula and massage therapist, she weaves somatic practices and trauma-informed care into movement work, tending to body, spirit, and nervous system. She brings additional communications experience from Loyola University New Orleans, MusicSynergy504, and 102.3 WHIV FM. Grounded in abolitionist and anti-racist values, she bridges institutional spaces and grassroots movements, growing Southern power through mutual aid, language justice, and dignity-centered care for women.