Women with Disabilities: Barriers and Facilitators to Accessing Services during Pregnancy, Childbirth and Early Motherhood

In November 2007, the National Disability Authority commissioned research, in a joint initiative with the National Women’s Council of Ireland, to explore the strengths and weaknesses of publicly funded Irish health services provided to women with disabilities in relation to pregnancy, childbirth and early motherhood. The research, funded by the National Disability Authority, was carried out by a team of researchers from the School of Nursing and Midwifery in Trinity College, Dublin.

The first report from this project, Women with Disabilities: barriers and facilitators to accessing services during pregnancy, childbirth and early motherhood, is a review of literature, both national and international, identifying the challenges that women with disabilities face in accessing health services during pregnancy, childbirth and early motherhood. The report also documents factors, identified in the literature, which facilitate access to these health services for women with disabilities.