Hello and welcome to disAbilityMaternityCare. My name is Namira Williams. As founder of disAbilityMaternityCare, I’d like to take a couple of minutes to explain to you the reasons why I have developed this website, and how it might help you.
As a midwife and mother to a daughter with a learning disability, I became aware of the need to provide relevant information to help each woman, and her family on this journey from pregnancy through to motherhood.
Becoming pregnant can be both an exciting and a scary time for most women. But for women with disabilities, they have additional needs which make this journey to motherhood more challenging.
Many health providers and other care providers are also unsure of what types of information to provide or the types of care needed. This site aims to help provide that for you. I believe that my experiences as a midwife who has cared for women with disabilities, my own personal experiences, and my research into maternity care for women with intellectual disabilities has given me both an insight and also a passion into how best to support women and their families through this journey.
Like other women, women with disabilities have diverse needs and one answer does not fit all. Each woman often knows her own needs best. It is our job as care providers to work together for the best outcomes for mum, baby and family. In our communities, we talk about the importance of inclusion. Inclusion here, means that women have the chance to make their own choices in relation to becoming mothers.
I don’t have all the answers, and so I welcome your feedback and your contributions. It is only through hearing women’s voices that we can change the conversation to enable women with disabilities to become the mothers that they would like to be. Thankyou.
