Why Don't We See Pregnant Disabled People?
I hope you all realize how passionate I am about disabled representation. Have you ever seen a pregnant person in a wheelchair? Maybe a birth results in a permanent disability, do we neglect the person who gave birth with these new disabilities? Did you know that maternal mortality is very common in populated and underserved communities? "Among these [pregnancy-related deaths], 84% were determined to be preventable." Eighty-four percent. If those are deaths, how many are left disabled and alone? I will focus on physical disability because the topic involves the most naturally taxing experience on the human body.
According to current research, "disability does not necessarily have a negative effect on parenting." The fact that people think that there aren't successful parents with physical disabilities is so disheartening. I went on TikTok and searched, "disabled parents," and I was sadly seeing this as their top post. The first two posts are two different white teens complaining about being more the parent than the child. Out of the first 5 posts, only one was educational and portrayed gadgets that assisted them in the kitchen. The rest were either complaining about having disabled parents or inspiration porn. This post by TikToker, @reidsrumour, is the only post I felt seen and heard.
Pregnant people are actively becoming disabled every day. I will not talk about post-partum because that's a completely different experience than becoming physically disabled. It'll be for another blog some other day. Birthers are still actively dying in this country because of their lack of resources, especially if you're not in a location where birthing services are offered. I have seen a shift in hiring more birth doulas for at-home births, including post-partum care. When you're giving birth at the hospital, the doctors primarily focus on the infant once removed from the womb. FACT: my healthiest brother was an at-home birth. The "team" should be skilled at the signs of the birther’s stress. The saying, "it takes a village," is taken way more seriously when giving birth. I may be biased because I've seen a lot of successful births for queer, POC parents and they have often used a doula. I am also friends with doulas and expect myself to eventually refer to them to clients one day.
For the best country in the world, we're neglecting a big portion of our population, but isn't that the most American thing? Abandonment, biases, struggle, stress, hustle culture, and independent living. This entire country is disabled because the whole country is neglectful! Even the white, rich, and privileged are taken a step down because, if you're pregnant, you can go to the best doctors and still end up disabled. Disability and pregnancy are not mutually exclusive terms; they are related and intertwined. I want to make it my job as a sex coach to help this population as much as I can.
