Making effective reasonable adjustments for women with learning disabilities during pregnancy

Daniels, Lynsey; Douglass, Emma

doi:10.7748/ldp.2021.e2132

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Data from the UK's Millennium Cohort Study suggests that 0.4% of the mothers in the cohort (n = 18,189) had an intellectual disability [4]. This population are likely to have poorer maternity experiences and health outcomes during pregnancy [5,6,7,8,9] and breastfeeding rates are lower than for other women [6, 10,11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Supporting women with intellectual disabilities in infant feeding decisions: A focus group study

Douglass

Johnson

Lucas

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Background More women with intellectual disabilities are becoming mothers but fewer are known to breastfeed compared with other women. This article reports on the final stage of a three-part UK project aimed at exploring how women with intellectual disabilities are supported to make infant feeding decisions. The first, a scoping review of published literature and resources, explored how women with intellectual disabilities are supported to make infant feeding decisions with a specific focus on the visual images used. In the second, health professionals with experience of working with women with intellectual disabilities were interviewed about their experience in supporting infant feeding decisions. The findings from these studies have been published elsewhere. The final stage, discussed in this article, involved asking women with intellectual disabilities to attend a focus group to discuss the accessibility of currently available infant feeding resources. This was followed by the co-production of an accessible film, to disseminate the findings from all three stages of the completed project. Methods Four women with an intellectual disability participated in a focus group where they were asked to give their views on the accessibility of currently available infant feeding resources as well as on alternative representations of infant feeding. Photo elicitation was used to gather views on a selection of videos, bespoke ‘easy read’ material and several alternative representations of infant feeding. A transcription of the focus group discussion was thematically analysed whilst a critical visual analysis was undertaken of the women's preferred images/resources. Results Two themes were identified from the group discussion: ‘The desire for choice’ and ‘How easy is ‘easy read’?’ Critical visual analysis identified the importance of the story and social setting of the preferred infant feeding image. Conclusions Our findings suggest a need for a suite of resources, avoiding the one-size-fits-all approach and including people with an intellectual disability at every stage of the design and production process. Resources should recognise and embrace differences in terms of understanding, visual literacy and cultural taste, as well as being freely available to support women with intellectual disabilities to make informed infant feeding decisions.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Supporting women with intellectual disabilities in infant feeding decisions: A focus group study

Douglass

Johnson

Lucas

et al. 2023

Preprint

Self Cite

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show abstract

“…Health Visitor and midwife training includes specific input on supporting infant feeding, usually closely aligned to the UNICEF‐UK Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI) Standards ( 2017 ). Most health professionals, however, receive minimal input in relation to working with women with learning disabilities during their undergraduate courses and report feeling underprepared in supporting this population when qualified (Castell & Kroese, 2016 ; Daniels & Douglass, 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Supporting women with learning disabilities in infant feeding decisions: UK health care professionals' experiences

Dowling

Douglass

Lucas

et al. 2022

Maternal & Child Nutrition

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Women with learning disabilities are less likely to breastfeed than other women.They may find it hard to understand or learn feeding techniques or know that they have infant feeding choices. This population may be supported during their pregnancies by a range of professionals with differing priorities and responsibilities towards both the mother and the baby. This puts considerable pressure on health care professionals including, but not limited to, midwives, infant feeding specialists, health visitors and learning disability nurses. Those who support women with learning disabilities through their journey into motherhood have a responsibility to ensure the women in their care have the information they need to make decisions about a range of issues, including infant feeding. In the absence of dedicated lactation consultants, this is one of many issues to be discussed within time-limited appointments. Little is known about the experience of supporting women with learning disabilities to make infant feeding decisions from the point of view of health professionals. Using a qualitative descriptive research design, we conducted online, semistructured interviews with seven UK health professionals about their experience of supporting women with learning disabilities in infant feeding. Thematic analysis identified three themes: the importance of health professionals' having unconditional, positive regard; the need for an individualised approach to supporting women to make infant-feeding decisions; and being part of the support network. This suggests that women with learning disabilities can make and put into practice infant feeding decisions if they have access to the right support at the right time.

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“Work with us… to make it more accessible”. What women with intellectual disabilities want from infant-feeding health resources: an exploratory study

Douglass,

Johnson,

Lucas

et al. 2023

Int Breastfeed J

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Background More women with intellectual disabilities are becoming mothers but fewer are known to breastfeed compared with other women. Women with intellectual disabilities are entitled to accessible antenatal and infant feeding information, yet are rarely asked for their views on available resources. This article reports on the final stage of a UK project exploring how women with intellectual disabilities are supported to make infant feeding decisions. The wider project includes a scoping review and interviews with healthcare professionals, here we focus on the voices of the women themselves. Methods Four women with an intellectual disability participated in a focus group where they were asked to give their views on the accessibility of currently available infant feeding resources and on alternative representations of infant feeding. All were interested in women’s health issues, including infant feeding. Photo-elicitation was used to gather views on videos, bespoke ‘Easy Read’ material and several alternative representations of infant feeding. A transcription of the discussion was thematically analysed whilst a critical visual analysis was undertaken of the women’s preferred images/resources. The study took place in Bristol, UK, during 2022. Results Two themes were identified from the group discussion: ‘The desire for choice’ and ‘How easy is ‘Easy Read’?’ The desire for choice was expressed in terms through agreements and disagreements about preferred imagery, differing tastes, and reasons for these preferences. We identified a challenge to ‘Easy Read’ as a default standard and concerns that some forms of ‘Easy Read’ can confuse rather than inform. Critical visual analysis identified the importance of the story and social setting of the preferred infant feeding image. Conclusions Findings suggest a need for a suite of resources, avoiding the one-size-fits-all approach, including people with an intellectual disability at every stage of the design and production process. Resources should recognise and embrace differences in terms of understanding, visual literacy and cultural taste, as well as being freely available to support women with intellectual disabilities to make informed infant feeding decisions. An accessible film was co-produced, to disseminate the findings from all three stages of the completed project.

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Making effective reasonable adjustments for women with learning disabilities during pregnancy

Cited by 3 publications

References 14 publications

Supporting women with intellectual disabilities in infant feeding decisions: A focus group study

Supporting women with intellectual disabilities in infant feeding decisions: A focus group study

Supporting women with learning disabilities in infant feeding decisions: UK health care professionals' experiences

“Work with us… to make it more accessible”. What women with intellectual disabilities want from infant-feeding health resources: an exploratory study

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