The concept of Development Niche consists of three subsystems: the physical and social
environment, the psychology of caregivers and care practices. The present study aimed to
analyze the prison context in light of the theoretical model of the developmental niche. The
sample was 16 mothers guarded at the SUSIPE´s Maternal and Child Unit located in
Ananindeua, in the metropolitan region of Belém. An interview script was used to collect the
data in order to obtain information on the profile of mothers and their babies. Mothers
responded to the KIDI, an instrument composed of 75 questions, divided into four categories:
care practices, health and safety, rules and acquisitions and principles of development. The
results indicated that the majority of the mothers were over 25 years of age, multiparous and
of low schooling. Regarding the results of the application of the KIDI instrument, it was
observed that the mothers answered 62% of the inventory questions and presented a
performance of more than 50% of correctness in all the categories evaluated by the
instrument, however the best results were obtained in The Health and Safety category
(71.87%) and development principles (64.34%). Multiparity and the physical and social
environment presented themselves as significant variables at the level of knowledge. From the
results found, it is verified how important it is to know this context as a Development Niche
that has a mutual relationship between environment, practices and the psychology of
caregivers, and therefore, must be understood in its various dimensions. The study in prison
context was satisfactory in that it provided important data for the reflection of public policies
in the prison environment, possible orientations for mothers about child development and
contributions for the improvement of the professionals' performance in the unit.
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