About Pathways To Parenthood

The making of this Resource has come about from the dedication and shared effort of a small, feisty volunteer project team – Joanne Hutchins, Lois Gilmour & Kerri Thorne – at the NSW Network of Women with Disability. They gathered at Kerri’s cottage to research, compile, write, telephone, drink coffee, edit, proof-read, format, and design the entire project and they lived to tell the tale J We have been encouraged to turn our book into a website so here it is.

This resource would not be possible without the helpful input of many organizations and women with disability if you know of a service or resource which would be useful to share please fill out the Resource form on the parenting main page.

Thankyou
 

Who is this resource for? Primarily, it is for women and men with disability and/or chronic illness, especially those women and men considering their life choices. This Resource is also for mums and dads with disability, especially those living in NSW. However, as mentioned in the preface, this book will also be helpful to those living across Australia, and some parts of the resource [e.g. chapter 6 on aids and equipment to assist parenting; resources available online] may assist parents with disability living elsewhere.

This resource will also be a useful resource for people who work alongside/support people with a disability such as child and family teams within community health settings, social workers and other allied health professionals, midwives and obstetricians, and disability support workers. The information and ideas contained in this resource may be of interest to parents of young people with disability; and to those who work in domains related to sexuality, relationships, fertility management, or even some academics [e.g. rehabilitation counselling].

This resource has been in development for 18 months however the need for such a resource has existed for many years. Women with disability have been becoming pregnant, and raising families, but there remains a general societal belief that this is not so.

The challenge in finding relevant information, shared experiences of parenthood, and services that include and are accessible to adults/parents with disability/chronic illness continue. We hope that this book goes some way towards addressing these issues and providing women and men with disability or chronic illness a starting point in their consideration of this life choice – to become a mum or dad.

This resource looks at the various developmental stages of the transition to parenthood from choosing to have a baby, pregnancy and childbirth, to family life and beyond. This book includes in its focus both mainstream and disability-specific resources that can be of benefit to parents [to be] with disability.

Although the content of this resource focuses on what is available for women and men living in NSW, much of the information can be of benefit to and accessed by people with disability anywhere [e.g. international websites for parents with disability] Services of a similar nature to those named here in NSW can be accessed in other states across Australia, and alike alternatives are possibly available to people with disability globally.

 We have been encouraged to make the website as accessible as possible however feedback is appreciated. We also welcome any further resources out there and they can be added through completing and emailing the resource form on the Parenting main page.