7.4 Women with babies 7.4.1 The 2008 amendments to the Correctional Services legislation provides that babies will be allowed to stay with the mothers until they are 2 years old, and thus considered old enough to be separated from their mothers. While the lowering of the age from 5 to 2 years is welcomed, the Committee believes that further research on the impact of incarceration on very young children should be conducted and if necessary stricter guidelines should be developed for their care. Pending the outcome of such studies mothers and their babies should as far as possible be accommodated in facilities that are as near normal as possible to ensure that the negative impact on babies' socialisation is kept to the bare minimum.