Anne Valentine

Background: Nearly 25 years after passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), girls and women with physical disabilities still experience gaps throughout the life span in the information and services required to make informed choices and receive the services they need for optimal reproductive health. It is not uncommon for young women and girls to not receive basic sex education that will enable them to make informed choices regarding sexual activity, contraception and childbearing. Women report experiences with clinicians who assume that they are asexual and who lack the knowledge and skills to provide them with adequate information and care. Methods: Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with a national sample of 41 women between the ages of 18-64 with early onset physical disabilities regarding their experiences with reproductive health information and services. Women were recruited via social media and community-based organizations. Results: Women commonly reported inadequate sex education, including inaccurate information about their fertility, resulting in unintended pregnancy. They further reported that many clinicians made inaccurate assumptions about their interest and capacity for childbearing and provided them with inadequate information or care. Conclusion: Women with early onset physical disabilities face significant gaps in obtaining the reproductive health information and services they require. Using an integrated life course approach, maternal and child health policy can address these gaps to improve access to accurate information and quality reproductive health care.