Christchurch Women's Prison is home to more than 100 mothers - just one of three jails in New Zealand holding a total of around 800 female inmates this Mother's Day.
Deb Alleyne, the prison director for Christchurch Women's Prison, says the facility is struggling to accommodate the number of inmates in their care.
"We have to accommodate the people we've got and we don't have the luxury of turning people away if we are full. That is something the department are grappling with - how to manage that," Ms Alleyne said.
Around the country, the number of women in prisons has jumped by around 40 per cent in the past few years.
The majority of them are mothers who continue to parent from behind bars - mimicking global trends with no signs of slowing.
Plunket has run a course to equip prison mums with basic parenting skills.
One of the attendees, an unidentified mother of four, is serving time for drug convictions and is due for release in 2021.
"Learning how their children's minds work, emotions, and how to be there for them more - I have to learn how to make up for the time I lost," she told 1 NEWS.
"I'm probably angry at myself and feel guilty about it, but there is not much I can do - just carry on and get home as soon as I can."
The prisoner speaks to her children daily, critiquing their reports and monitoring their progress at sport, but Mother's Day is tough.
"Just being away from them and talking to them on the phone is pretty hard."
"While mums don't get access to their children, the children don't get access to their mums when they need to, either. When they come into prison, they don't see an offender, they just see their mum and they love their mum regardless," Ms Alleyne said.
While the department deals with the growing number of inmates, it's also rolling out more education and rehabilitation programs to reconnect families and to try and stop these women from coming back.
SHARE ME