Pregnancy & Parenting

Crop pregnant woman embracing tummy with husband

Pregnancy and Parenting Support for People with Disabilities

The Pregnancy and Parenting Support project—a collaboration between Ability360, Arizona Spinal Cord Injury Association, March of Dimes, Raising Special Kids, and the University of Arizona Sonoran Center for Excellence in Disabilities—aims to gain information about the needs, preferences, and experiences of individuals with a disability in their decision-making, health care, and support to become pregnant and parent a child. This needs assessment study is being conducted by a workgroup of organizational representatives who are exploring the current status and identified issues that can be responded to through resource sharing, training, and grant development following feedback from participants.

We need your help with a research project about persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) or autism who are pregnant, parenting, or who want to become pregnant or parents. We are looking for input from both people with I/DD and health care providers to improve services for people with disabilities who want to become pregnant or be a parent. 

TAKE THE SURVEY FOR PEOPLE WITH I/DD    TAKE THE SURVEY FOR HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS

 

Resources

Stories

Image
Amber Hansen, a woman with long brown hair, wearing a lavender top with white spots and a gold necklace, standing in front of a shelf and smiling.

Meet Amber Hansen

She is a mother of four children, and has been Deaf since childhood. She shares how she navigates accommodations, areas where support is needed, and the joys of parenting that keep her going through it all.

READ AMBER'S STORY

 

 


Parents with lived experience share their stories in these short videos.

2024 Pregnancy and Parenting Forum

Watch the recording from our February 2024 Pregnancy and Parenting Forum to learn more about our project, hear our key findings, and listen to panel of professionals and individuals with lived experience. Panelists share their advice and identify gaps in supporting individuals with disabilities to become pregnant and parent a child.

Contact

To learn more about this project, please contact Celina Urquidez at celinau@arizona.edu

 

 

This project was made possible through funding provided by the Arizona Developmental Disabilities Planning Council. The Arizona Developmental Disabilities Planning Council is supported by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $1,500,930 with 100 percent funding by ACL/HHS. Council efforts are those of the grantee and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by ACL/HHS, or the U.S. Government. The views expressed in written materials or publications and by any speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the ADDPC or the Administration for Community Living, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.