There are still many prejudices linked to the world of disability. It is still a delicate subject, little explored, where there is a tendency to generalise without knowing. And when it comes to disability and motherhood, we get even deeper into a series of prejudices that are difficult to break down.
It is still thought today that a disabled woman is unable to carry a pregnancy and raise a child. And it is precisely this theme that we are going to touch on today, trying to dispel some of the most common prejudices linked to the world of disabled mothers.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
1. For a disabled woman, pregnancy is more at risk <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nNot all disabilities allow one to have children, that is true. Whether or not one is predisposed depends on many factors, such as whether the disability arose after the age of development or not. Apart from a few cases, in general, however, we can say that pregnancy is almost always permitted<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIf, for example, we talk about hypomobility<\/strong>pregnancy may involve a high risk of gestational diabetes or thrombosis.
A woman in a wheelchair <\/strong>may experience problems following catheterisation, which is used to urinate. In this case, infections could occur that could lead to a miscarriage. Other disabilities, such as muscular dystrophy myotonia, <\/strong>do not provide for the possibility of carrying a pregnancy instead.
Many studies have focused on the effects that the childbirth and gestation <\/strong>can have on women suffering from multiple sclerosis <\/strong>and it was found that there are no contraindications to pregnancy for this condition. In fact, there are no differences in postnatal hospitalisation times between women with multiple sclerosis and healthy women. <\/p>\n\n\n\n2. A disabled woman has no sexual needs <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nI sexual and reproductive rights <\/strong>of women with disabilities are generically judged in a contradictory way. Because on the one hand there is still an idea of the woman as a sexual object or in the role of mother, on the other hand there is the concept that represents the disabled woman as as asexual and unfit to be a mother.
We can establish with certainty that being disabled does not mean not feeling sexual urges. On the contrary, women with disabilities can experience the same sexual desire as anyone else, quite naturally.
The problem? When it comes to disability, sex becomes an area undermined by taboos and prejudices. Often it is difficult to think about all the difficulties inherent in the sexual sphere of people with disabilities, other times it is thought that sex is not even a necessity for them.
Very often the prejudice starts from the family, which considers women with disabilities as asexual, unfit to live with a partner and to be mothers.
Sexual needs and desires are not seen as such and are automatically repressed even within the social context of which one is a part. <\/p>\n\n\n\nThe same United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities<\/strong>approved in 2007 and subsequently ratified in Italy - both with an explicit reference to the exercise of sexuality and indirectly - repeatedly recognises in several articles, at the level of general obligations, the right to home and family, the right to life, freedom, inclusion, independent living, education and health, the need not to discriminate against persons with disabilities with regard to the full enjoyment of their rights, defining an ethical-legal basis for interventions that support the education and protection of human sexuality also for persons with disabilities.
In general terms, the WHO (2001) equated the right to sexual health with human rights in general. With this, sexuality became a fully-fledged part of the components that create a person's well-being, also analysed in a psycho-educational and social function. <\/p>\n\n\n\nEvery woman must feel free to experience sexuality in a natural and personal way, as well as to have or not have the desire to be a mother and create a family with her partner. There are no rules, it is a world in which the rights of women with disabilities to make decisions about their own lives, sexuality and motherhood must be guaranteed and free from prejudice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. A disabled woman is too frail to carry a pregnancy <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nWomen with physical disabilities are about as likely to become mothers as women of a similar age without disabilities, and even for women disabled from birth, pregnancy is not dangerous per se<\/strong>.
Looking again at the example of a woman with multiple sclerosis, she would have to discontinue therapy during pregnancy. As a consequence, typical symptoms such as balance problems and difficulty walking may occur. In general, the sense of fatigue during pregnancy may worsen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If, for example, we talk about hypomobility<\/strong>pregnancy may involve a high risk of gestational diabetes or thrombosis. I sexual and reproductive rights <\/strong>of women with disabilities are generically judged in a contradictory way. Because on the one hand there is still an idea of the woman as a sexual object or in the role of mother, on the other hand there is the concept that represents the disabled woman as as asexual and unfit to be a mother. The same United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities<\/strong>approved in 2007 and subsequently ratified in Italy - both with an explicit reference to the exercise of sexuality and indirectly - repeatedly recognises in several articles, at the level of general obligations, the right to home and family, the right to life, freedom, inclusion, independent living, education and health, the need not to discriminate against persons with disabilities with regard to the full enjoyment of their rights, defining an ethical-legal basis for interventions that support the education and protection of human sexuality also for persons with disabilities. Every woman must feel free to experience sexuality in a natural and personal way, as well as to have or not have the desire to be a mother and create a family with her partner. There are no rules, it is a world in which the rights of women with disabilities to make decisions about their own lives, sexuality and motherhood must be guaranteed and free from prejudice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Women with physical disabilities are about as likely to become mothers as women of a similar age without disabilities, and even for women disabled from birth, pregnancy is not dangerous per se<\/strong>.
A woman in a wheelchair <\/strong>may experience problems following catheterisation, which is used to urinate. In this case, infections could occur that could lead to a miscarriage. Other disabilities, such as muscular dystrophy myotonia, <\/strong>do not provide for the possibility of carrying a pregnancy instead.
Many studies have focused on the effects that the childbirth and gestation <\/strong>can have on women suffering from multiple sclerosis <\/strong>and it was found that there are no contraindications to pregnancy for this condition. In fact, there are no differences in postnatal hospitalisation times between women with multiple sclerosis and healthy women. <\/p>\n\n\n\n2. A disabled woman has no sexual needs <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
We can establish with certainty that being disabled does not mean not feeling sexual urges. On the contrary, women with disabilities can experience the same sexual desire as anyone else, quite naturally.
The problem? When it comes to disability, sex becomes an area undermined by taboos and prejudices. Often it is difficult to think about all the difficulties inherent in the sexual sphere of people with disabilities, other times it is thought that sex is not even a necessity for them.
Very often the prejudice starts from the family, which considers women with disabilities as asexual, unfit to live with a partner and to be mothers.
Sexual needs and desires are not seen as such and are automatically repressed even within the social context of which one is a part. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In general terms, the WHO (2001) equated the right to sexual health with human rights in general. With this, sexuality became a fully-fledged part of the components that create a person's well-being, also analysed in a psycho-educational and social function. <\/p>\n\n\n\n3. A disabled woman is too frail to carry a pregnancy <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Looking again at the example of a woman with multiple sclerosis, she would have to discontinue therapy during pregnancy. As a consequence, typical symptoms such as balance problems and difficulty walking may occur. In general, the sense of fatigue during pregnancy may worsen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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