It was supposed to be a special moment when Laura Strange cradled her newborn daughter in her arms for the first time. But instead of enjoying the happy arrival, the 25-year-old was preparing to say goodbye to the tiny infant. At little over two hours old Haley, swaddled in a hospital blanket, was taken away from her mother and it could be two years before the pair are reunited. Scroll down for video . Heartbreaking: New mother Laura Strange, 25, is forced to say goodbye to her daughter Haley just hours after she gave birth to the infant . Strange will have to serve the remainder of her two year prison sentence before she can take back custody of her daughter . Little Haley is one of 340 babies born each year to mother's serving sentences at Valley State Prison, in Chowchilla, California. With on average 120 inmates pregnant each month only a handful of women are lucky enough to avoid separation from their infants. Strange said: 'I accept the consequence of my crime; I accept the fact that I broke the law. But what does that have to do with my child? Inmate Laura Strange was shackled to the hospital bed after giving birth to her second child . 'Giving her up was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. 'I hurt every second of the day for her.' Photographer Mark Allen Johnson was allowed access to the prison and its pregnant inmates to capture the struggle of giving birth behind bars. Being pregnant does not secure expectant mother's special treatment at Valley State, the world's largest prison for women. With nearly four thousand inmates, they are forced to continue to rub shoulders with murders and violent offenders at the 640 acre site. 'Being pregnant does not give you better treatment,' one expectant mother complained. Another alleged received threats of violence from her fellow detainees while she was with-child. Blonde-haired Strange was taken from her prison cell at the onset of labour to Madera Community Hospital where she gave birth by cesarean section. Just two hours after the delivery, a booming voice breaks the silence of the ward, 'Strange, fifteen more minutes.' Eager to enjoy their last few moments together, the new mother quickly feeds the infant from a bottle of baby formula whispering: 'Momma doesn't want to send you away on an empty stomach.' Gazing down at the shackles around her ankle that confine her to the hospital bed, Strange shakes her right foot. 'My damn leg fell asleep again,' she moans. 'Five more minutes,' the voice shouts, interrupting her final moments with Haley. Trembling, Strange quietly pleads, 'Why me?' As the newborn finishes her bottle a nurse arrives and prises the infant from her mother's grasp before walking out of the door with the child. Just an hour later Strange is on her way back to Valley State Prison, where she will spend two years behind bars for drugs charges. While she serves the remainder of her sentence her mother, Anita, who is already looking after her son Gerard, will take care of Haley. Expectant mothers: Inmate Laura Strange, pictured with April Green and Simone Anderson, ahead of the birth of her second child . Jasmine Jones, 19, who is nine months pregnant with her first child, waits for a doctors appointment in a holding cell . Pregnant Jasmine Jones, 19, is serving two years for robbery and possession of a deadly weapon . According to the California Department of Correction and Rehabilitation (CDCR), the state has one of the largest prison systems in the world. In the past two decades, the system has grown 554 per cent, raising the number of inmates from 24,569 to 160,655. The Atlantic Monthly asserts that the CDCR 'holds more inmates in its jails and prisons than do France, Great Britain, Germany, Japan, Singapore, and the Netherlands combined.' At any given time, approximately 120 are pregnant at Valley State Prison on average each month. But with over 340 babies born annually to female inmates, only a handful of these children are able to avoid separation from their mothers. The State of California operates three mother-infant prisoner programs that allow those who qualify to live in a low-level prison setting with their newborn if the duration of their sentence is less than six years. With as few as 75 beds in the program, many prisoners  are forced to give up their babies for adoption or foster care, or, in some cases, they give parental custody to friends or relatives. Melissa Bates is one of the lucky ones. She and her daughter are serving her  sentence of two years and seven months together at Oakland Community Prisoner Mother Program (CPMP). The low-level prison houses up to 24 women inmates who gave birth behind bars and aims to keep mother and child together. For those not so lucky and who do not have family who can step in, a host family is provided. They are put on standby ahead of the birth and wait for a call from prison officials telling them when they are needed. They can then care for the newborn for as little as a couple of weeks to as long as a couple of years, depending how much of the sentence is left to run. Mother-of-three Margaret Bell gave birth behind bars and gave her infant son to a host family from the Babies Out of Bondages Program, a Christian organization run by The Church Of Glad Tidings. The pair were reunited after the 36-year-old was given parole from State Valley and given a room in a church-run house for prison mothers. Melissaa Bates is one of the lucky ones. She and her daughter are serving a two year and seven month sentence together at a community based facility as part of Community Prisoner Mother Program. The Oakwood Community Prisoner Mother Program has just 24 beds for mothers who give birth behind bars . There are only 75 prison beds in the Community Prisoner Mother Program in California . Amanda Krump, an inmate at the Community Prisoner Mother Program,  tries to get her son to sleep for an afternoon nap . One of the children living behind bars and locked doors as she stays with her mother at the Community Prisoner Mother Program . Amber Marich, 25, is seven months pregnant and serving a two year sentence for drugs distribution. Pictured: The expectant mother is visited by a doctor in the run-up to giving birth . Margret Bell, 36,  is reunited with her son Devin. The Mother-of-three is currently on parole from prison and living at 'The House Of Ruth,' a transitional housing unit for prison mothers and women at risk, run by the Church Of Glad Tidings. Margaret Bell and Son Devin have been reunited after she was released from prison . Amber Marich, 25, who is seven months pregnant  and serving a two-year sentence for distributing drugs, is not the first person in her family to end up behind bars. She also has a uncle serving life, a father who has served multiple prison sentences. Inmates who are pregnant are given little or no rehabilitation for their drug use and criminal lifestyle and it is hard for them once released to escape their past. Prison officials say that children born to criminal parents are also more likely to commit crimes themselves, creating a perpetual cycle that contributes to the growing prison population.
Laura Strange, 25, is incarcerated at Valley State Prison, California . Mother-of-two is serving a two year sentence for drugs charges . Newborn daughter taken away just two hours after she gave birth . Strange says being without the infant hurts 'every second of the day'
Photographer Mark Johnson given access to expectant mothers at jail . He captured on camera the struggle of pregnancy, giving birth and motherhood behind bars . The prison hospital delivers on average 340 babies each year . There is not enough space on the mother and baby programs for them all to stay together .