Eliannys Marcano never wanted children. It was only after her conviction for armed robbery that her maternal instinct kicked in.

Last year, half-way through her 11-year sentence, she gave birth to her daughter, who now lives with her behind bars in one of Mexico City's high-security prisons.

"It makes you think that a baby is a big responsibility, and even more when you have it in prison," she told CGTN at Santa Marta Acatitla penitentiary where she is serving her sentence.

"But it's also a big help. It helps you to change, to get better living standards, to live with different people, to get help from the authorities. Who wouldn't want to have a baby here, right?" she said.

Her case is not unusual. Eliannys says a lot of her fellow convicts are either expecting, or actively trying to conceive.

In Mexico, incarceration rates for women have been on the rise in recent years, especially for drug-related crimes. That has led to an increase in another phenomenon — prison parenthood. Eliannys learned quickly that having kids can make life behind bars a little easier.

Inmates who are pregnant receive good benefits. For example, they can be moved to other penitentiaries and are afforded better living conditions and regular medical checkups.

At Santa Martha Acatitla penitentiary, 56 mothers currently live behind bars with the children they gave birth to during their prison sentences.

These inmates get pregnant during conjugal visits, making the most of the right afforded to married couples separated by prison sentences.

"It's important for a baby to live with its mother, because it's the first opportunity at solid formation for a healthy life," says Gloria Hernandez, the director of the female penitentiary.

"So the fact that some mothers here may find parenthood difficult, it's also due to their lack of knowledge, and abandonment issues that they themselves carry," Hernandez added.

Yet for prison moms, there is a downside. Mexican law states that at the age of 3, a child can no longer live in prison.

And sometimes younger children are removed when health issues are involved. That's what happened to the son of Arcelia Sanchez, who is serving 24 years for murder.

"It has been so painful. When he walked for the first time, or used the bathroom by himself, I wasn't there to see it," she said with tears in her eyes.

"I couldn't enjoy him, I didn't see him grow, I haven't been with him. I missed everything. But in here, it's us who are paying for our crimes, not them."

Eliannys knows her time with her baby daughter is limited, but says that the new perspective that motherhood has brought her has been a far more effective rehabilitation than any prison stretch.