Two women were refused access to the Mums and Bubs unit, specially built at Darwin Correctional Centre, due to overcrowding last week.

One of these women has not yet been convicted of any offense and is on remand, the ABC reported.

The unit was originally meant to house pregnant women and new mothers who could stay with their newborns for a year.

However, the facility's ten beds are currently being used to house other low-security inmates because of the rising number of prisoners.

As a result, two women were denied the opportunity to access the facility, and one of them had her child taken away and placed with a foster family against her wishes.

The other, about to give birth, has written a plea to the NT Corrections Commissioner;

"I don't want to miss the years because they are the most important years of bonding. One hour a fortnight holding my baby in the visitor center is not bonding. Please, please my life my baby's life is in your hands."

Olga Havnen,co-chair of the Northern Territory Aboriginal Justice Agreement, says there must be other options available, to keep the newborns and their mothers together.

"I find it stunning, completely and utterly appalling. It would have to be one of the most severe forms of cruelty and inhumanity," she told National Indigenous Times.

"The system cannot possibly suggest there aren't alternatives and other options available.

"For example, the woman who is on there on remand, there should have been an immediate application to the court to have her released on compassionate grounds, to have her released if necessary into secure supported bail accommodation."

Ms Havnen said authorities should also work with the mother to help her develop parenting skills.

"I would like the people making these decisions, invariably men, to think about how they would feel if it was their wife, or their daughter who was in similar circumstances. They would be tearing their hair out in despair."

A NT Correction Services (NTCS) spokesperson told National Indigenous Times: "NTCS supports and facilitates female prisoners to care for their child in the mother and child unit where possible, at correctional centres."

"NTCS has an assessment process with guidelines in place to consider whether it is appropriate and suitable for babies to live with their mothers in custody," they said.

"It is not an automatic decision that babies will be accommodated with their mothers who are in custody."

In accordance with the NTCS' assessment protocols, the General Manager will consider a range of factors in the assessment, including the safety and security of the facility. These factors include: Care and Protection, the best interest of the child to reside with the prisoner in the facility and whether the child is subject to a court order awarding custody to a person other than the prisoner.

The department spokesperson said the assessment includes consultation with Territory Families and NT Health, as required and that "in all cases, the welfare of the child is the primary consideration".

NT Correctional Services did not provide comment on any specific prisoner's circumstances.