Antenatal Support For Disability Support Workers

INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the antenatal support module. This self-paced module has been designed specifically for you, the disability support workers who may find yourselves supporting mothers, and their support partners, as they navigate their pregnancies. You may support mothers who have planned their pregnancy for a long time, or perhaps a mother who has a surprise pregnancy; no matter the circumstances, mothers will no doubt have mixed feelings, and many questions and concerns. You can be a source of great reassurance and comfort to them during this time of excitement and change.

As a disability support worker, and potentially a support person in the maternity arena, it is important that you show empathy and compassion towards the mothers as they adjust to their pregnancies, listen to their questions and concerns, and help them access appropriate and supportive health care providers (Birch & Williams, 2022). Education is key; for example, by understanding the anatomy and physiology of pregnancy, you will be able to translate complicated ‘medical speak’ and communicate it to the mother in a more ‘user-friendly’ way.

Be sure to click on each link, resource and video to fully complete the module. At the end of the module you will be directed back to any areas missed.
Within the module you will find ‘Learning check-ins’ which are designed to consolidate your learning and identify gaps in your knowledge.

The glossary, which includes commonly used terms, is a useful resource and will assist you with decoding any jargon you may come across in the world of pregnancy. You might choose to print this out so you have it at hand for any appointments.

Don’t forget to complete the post-module questionnaire – this helps us to evaluate and improve our learning tools in order to better support disability support workers, like you, in the future.
Note that some areas of learning, such as perinatal mental health, will be only briefly touched on this is module as they will be covered in greater depth in later learning modules.

This module is simply a guide and learning tool for you; this might be your first experience of pregnancy, you may have supported someone else during their pregnancy, or you may have been pregnant yourself. Either way, we hope you find the information in this module helpful.

Support tip – We strongly advise you to avoid using Google, or similar search engines, as a learning tool. Google has never been pregnant or had a baby!