Women with Cerebral Palsy Face Barriers in Reproductive Healthcare

Barriers in Reproductive healthcare.December 5, 2021
Barriers in Reproductive healthcare.
 
Introduction
This research aims to examine barriers to reproductive healthcare for women with Cerebral Palsy (CP). CP is a neurological disorder that affects a person’s ability to move and maintain balance and posture. It has adverse implications on women's reproductive health. CP is caused by improper brain growth or injury, and it inhibits the capacity to regulate one's muscles. As these adults get old, they may require wheelchairs or some mobility device to get around. While CP does not affect a woman's reproductive health, it has several implications on access to reproductive healthcare. In a recent peer-reviewed article, data from a national survey estimated that there are 163,732 women with chronic physical disability between the ages of 18 to 49 (2%), where 44,200 women with severe mobile disabilities are pregnant each year (Lauer & Lauer, 2019). The limited existing literature suggests that most women with physical disabilities have normal fertility, can become pregnant, and are capable of vaginal delivery ("Experiences of Women with Cerebral Palsy Accessing Women's Healthcare Services," 2016, p. 3). Moreover, Women with CP are faced with emotional, physical, and communication barriers in reproductive health care.
Body
Physical Barriers to Reproductive Healthcare
Women with CP face significant physical hurdles when accessing reproductive healthcare. During pregnancy, women with disabilities may have difficulty finding obstetricians to follow their pregnancy for multiple reasons. One physical barrier during pregnancy monitoring is the lack of accessible elevating exam tables and scales. Women with disabilities have frequently reported not being weighed during their pregnancy. In interviews with ten women with CP, mobility related to walking, balance, and/or transfers worsened during pregnancies, especially in their third trimester (Lauer & Lauer, 2019). Therefore, accessible exam rooms become more important as the pregnancy progresses. Studies have shown that women with CP find it challenging to go to their OB/GYN appointments because of the various obstacles they face during an exam, ultrasound visits, pep spear exams, as well as routine pregnancy appointments. In the mentioned study, a survey was conducted with women with CP and another group without CP in OB/GYN care. The survey results showed that medical doctors and staff were least accommodating compared to the group without CP. There were physical barriers that these women had to go through while getting the exam. The article concluded that medical staff and doctors need to educate themselves about CP to provide a positive outcome and accommodate their patients. 
Emotional Barriers to Reproductive Healthcare
Women with CP face significant emotional hurdles when accessing reproductive healthcare. The severity of CP disabilities varies from patient to patient, although most individuals with mobility challenges require adaptive mobility devices like wheelchairs. OB/GYN offices need to work around the patient's disabilities to accommodate them better. However, many women with CP have suffered miscarriages after lacking good in-patient care and are averse to seeking reproductive healthcare. Women with CP face significant emotional barriers when seeking maternal care. Being aware that all patients are different, medical professionals should demonstrate empathy and knowledge when handling people with different forms of disability, such as CP. Although there are guidelines for providing reproductive health care and education to young women, those special health care needs like (CP) rarely receive these services. Even a group of pediatric and adolescent practitioners who rate themselves as knowledgeable and supportive when providing reproductive healthcare services admit that they do not routinely perform these services ("Patient and Practitioners’ Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviors About Gynecological and Obstetric Healthcare for Women with Cerebral Palsy," 2016). Unfortunately, the emotional unavailability of most reproductive health care professionals prevents them from providing excellent care to women with CP.
Communication Barriers to Reproductive Healthcare
Women with CP face significant communication hurdles when accessing reproductive healthcare. Extant literature also reveals that reproductive health care systems are not accommodating to women with CP. They fail to provide both support and communication to patients with CP. Communication barriers between the patient and the doctor may undermine the woman with CP due to their disability. It would seem as though women with CP must prove to medical providers that they can make reproductive decisions for themselves. Most parents of young girls with CP relied on information from websites on how to communicate with their daughters about reproductive issues due to the lack of communication and resources from their health care provider. In reproductive healthcare, adolescents and young people with severe medical illnesses and disabilities are underserved. Adult women with disabilities report that they are less likely to receive contraceptive and sexually transmitted infection counseling and routine gynecologic care (Powell et al., 2019)
Women with...