Service Providers

As a service provider, your role may be as a Disability Support Worker, a Disability Advocate or working within a non-disability Community-based organisation to provide support. You may or may not have experience in providing support for women generally during their childbearing journey. However, as a service provider, your support is integral to her journey.

Information and articles for service providers around providing care specifically for women with disabilities from pregnancy through to early motherhood are provided in this section. Each article is presented in blog format with links to further resources and information specific to each topic.

Whilst this information is a guide for you in supporting your client with a disability during maternity care, it does not replace medical or health advice from your client’s particular doctor or health practitioner.

Their body! Their rules! Their choice!

11th of October is International Day of the Girl Child. In Australia, 5.7% of girls have a disability and this increases to 9.5% in the 15-24 age bracket. These girls will be the women and and mothers of tomorrow. Let’s make it safe for them, with a world that welcomes inclusion and diversity.

Mind the (disability) gender gap

‘You can’t be, what you can’t see’ – the words of 2022 Australian of the year Dylan Alcott are so important, as we approach Fathers day this month in Australia.
We increasingly hear stories and see images of mothers with a disability in our media, but fathers with disabilities are often invisible. Why is this important? Read on to find out more.

Mamability: from disability diagnosis to launching a Life Coaching and Chair Yoga business

I didn’t know I had a disability when I had my two daughters 11 and 9 years ago. But I knew at the time that I struggled with many tasks that come with having a new baby. I couldn’t use nappy pins, I struggled to dress them. I couldn’t undo clasps, clips and straps on any baby equipment. I remember searching for a pram that had a clasp that I could undo. It wasn’t easy, let me tell you!

Becoming pregnant with cerebral palsy

“That first pregnancy test is nerve-wracking for everyone, so many thoughts pass through your head as you wait for a result”, For Deaire, who has cerebral palsy, becoming pregnant was not only a surprise, but added a whole new layer to managing life with a disability.