Abstract
Background
Women with a disability have poorer perinatal outcomes, but little is known about
the prevalence of women with a disability accessing maternity services, how they are
identified and what care and services are available. Estimates suggest that nine percent
of women of childbearing age have a disability.
Aim
To explore how public maternity services in Australia identify pregnant women with
a disability, what (if any) routine disability identification questions are used,
and to examine availability and adequacy of services for women.
Methods
Cross-sectional online survey of maternity managers in Australian public hospitals.
Findings
Thirty-six percent (70/193) of eligible hospitals responded including all states and
territories. Overall, 71 % routinely asked women about disability status (usually
as part of routine history taking), however there was wide variation in how this was
asked. Most (63 %) did not have standardised documentation processes and two thirds
(65 %) were unable to estimate the number of women with a disability seen at their
hospital. Most (68 %) did not offer specialised services, with only 13 % having specialised
training for staff in disability identification, documentation and referral pathways.
Only a quarter of respondents felt that there were adequate services for women with
a disability related to maternity care.
Conclusion
This is the first study to explore disability identification in maternity services
in Australia. How women were asked was highly varied and documentation not standardised.
National guidelines on disability identification for women accessing maternity services
should be developed and collection of disability identification data should be routine.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 21, 2022
Accepted:
June 7,
2022
Received in revised form:
June 5,
2022
Received:
March 7,
2022
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
