Being a disabled mother
Even as the situation evolves, society still takes a dim view that women with disabilities can be mothers.
No help
“How she is going to do it”, “she is irresponsible”… Often, criticism is fired and the eyes of outsiders are no less harsh. The public authorities are not more aware: no specific financial assistance is provided to help disabled mothers to take care of their babies. France is lagging far behind in this area.
Insufficient structures
Out of 59 maternity hospitals in Ile-de-France, only about 2002 say they are able to follow a disabled woman in the context of pregnancy, according to a survey undertaken by the Disability Mission of Paris Public Assistance in 1. As for the offices of gynecology, of the approximately 760 existing in the region, only about XNUMX are accessible to women in wheelchairs and about XNUMX have a lifting table.
Despite everything, local initiatives are emerging. The Paris childcare institute has thus developed the reception of blind pregnant women. Some maternities have LSF (sign language) reception for future deaf parents. The association for the development of parenting support for disabled people (ADAPPH), for its part, organizes discussion meetings, as on the organization of daily life, in each region of France. A way to encourage disabled women to dare to be mothers.