Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Jul 20;7(7):e016757.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-016757.

Access and quality of maternity care for disabled women during pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period in England: data from a national survey

Reem Malouf  1 , Jane Henderson  1 , Maggie Redshaw  1
Affiliations

Access and quality of maternity care for disabled women during pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period in England: data from a national survey

Reem Malouf et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Objectives: More disabled women are becoming mothers, and yet, their care is rarely the focus of quantitative research. This study aimed to investigate access and quality of maternity care for women with differing disabilities.

Design: Secondary analysis was conducted on data from a 2015 national survey of women's experience of maternity care. Descriptive and adjusted analyses were undertaken for five disability groups: physical disability, sensory impairment, mental health disability, learning disability and multiple disability, and comparisons were made with the responses of non-disabled women.

Setting: Survey data were collected on women's experience of primary and secondary care in all trusts providing maternity care in England.

Participants: Women who had given birth 3 months previously, among whom were groups self-identifying with different types of disability. Exclusions were limited to women whose baby had died and those who were younger than 16 years at the time of the recent birth.

Results: Overall, 20 094 women completed and returned the survey; 1958 women (9.5%) self-identified as having a disability. The findings indicate some gaps in maternity care provision for these women relating to interpersonal aspects of care: communication, feeling listened to and supported, involvement in decision making, having a trusted and respected relationship with clinical staff. Women from all disability groups wanted more postnatal contacts and help with infant feeding.

Conclusion: While access to care was generally satisfactory for disabled women, women's emotional well-being and support during pregnancy and beyond is an area that is in need of improvement. Specific areas identified included disseminating information effectively, ensuring appropriate communication and understanding, and supporting women's sense of control to build trusting relationships with healthcare providers.

Keywords: disability; labour; maternity care; maternity services; postnatal; pregnancy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

References

    1. Blackford KA, Richardson H, Grieve S. Prenatal education for mothers with disabilities. J Adv Nurs 2000;32:898–904. - PubMed
    1. Walsh-Gallagher D, Sinclair M, Mc Conkey R. The ambiguity of disabled women's experiences of pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood: a phenomenological understanding. Midwifery 2012;28:156–62. 10.1016/j.midw.2011.01.003 - DOI - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization. Disability and rehabilitation. 2016. http://www.who.int/disabilities/data/en/ (11 Apr 2017).
    1. Hague G, Thiara R, Mullender A. Disabled women, domestic violence and social care: the risk of isolation, vulnerability and neglect. Br J Soc Work 2011;41:148–65. 10.1093/bjsw/bcq057 - DOI
    1. Lawler D, Lalor J, Begley C. Access to maternity services for women with a physical disability: a systematic review of the literature. Int J Childbirth 2013;3:203–17. 10.1891/2156-5287.3.4.203 - DOI

LinkOut - more resources