Societal attitude and behaviours towards women with disabilities in rural Nepal: pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood

Abstract

BackgroundThis study reviews the attitudes and behaviours in rural Nepalese society towards women with disabilities, their pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood. Society often perceives people with disabilities as different from the norm, and women with disabilities are frequently considered to be doubly discriminated against. Studies show that negative perceptions held in many societies undervalue women with disabilities and that there is discomfort with questions of their control over pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood, thus limiting their sexual and reproductive rights. Public attitudes towards women with disabilities have a significant impact on their life experiences, opportunities and help-seeking behaviours. Numerous studies in the global literature concentrate on attitudes towards persons with disabilities, however there have been few studies in Nepal and fewer still specifically on women.MethodsA qualitative approach, with six focus group discussions among Dalit and non-Dalit women without disabilities and female community health volunteers on their views and understandings about sexual and reproductive health among women with disabilities, and 17 face-to-face semi-structured interviews with women with physical and sensory disabilities who have had the experience of pregnancy and childbirth was conducted in Rupandehi district in 2015. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and translated into English before being analysed thematically.ResultsThe study found negative societal attitudes with misconceptions about disability based on negative stereotyping and a prejudiced social environment. Issues around the marriage of women with disabilities, their ability to conceive, give birth and safely raise a child were prime concerns identified by the non-disabled study participants. Moreover, many participants with and without disabilities reported anxieties and fears that a disabled woman’s impairment, no matter what type of impairment, would be transmitted to her baby, Participants – both disabled and non-disabled, reported that pregnancy and childbirth of women with disabilities were often viewed as an additional burden for the family and society. Insufficient public knowledge about disability leading to inaccurate blanket assumptions resulted in discrimination, rejection, exclusion and violence against women with disabilities inside and outside their homes. Stigma, stereotyping and prejudice among non-disabled people resulted to exclusion, discrimination and rejection of women with disabilities. Myths, folklore and misconceptions in culture, tradition and religion about disability were found to be deeply rooted and often cited as the basis for individual beliefs and attitudes.ConclusionWomen with disabilities face significant challenges from family and society in every sphere of their reproductive lives including pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood. There is a need for social policy to raise public awareness and for improved advocacy to mitigate misconception about disability and promote disabled women’...

Maternal Health Care Seeking Behavior of Peri-Urban Women With Disability in Busiro South, Wakiso District, Uganda: a Community Based Study

“…Qualitative data were collected from key informants, who were in-charges of the selected facilities and midwives, using a key informant interview guide. Data collection tools were developed based on the existing literature [1, [3][4][5][6][11][12][13][14][15][16][17], and prior to data collection, the questionnaire was pretested to ensure clarity and accuracy.…”

“…Furthermore, in developing countries 10.4% and 18.6% of women with disability reside in urban and rural communities respectively [3]. This affects their health seeking behavior especially for maternal and reproductive health services [4]. Misconceptions about the health of people with disabilities have led to assumptions that they do not require access to health promotion and disease prevention [4].…”

“…This affects their health seeking behavior especially for maternal and reproductive health services [4]. Misconceptions about the health of people with disabilities have led to assumptions that they do not require access to health promotion and disease prevention [4]. Whereas the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)-5 aims to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls including women with disabilities, there is uncertainty that may hinder attaining this as majority of these women are discriminated [2,4].…”

“…Misconceptions about the health of people with disabilities have led to assumptions that they do not require access to health promotion and disease prevention [4]. Whereas the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)-5 aims to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls including women with disabilities, there is uncertainty that may hinder attaining this as majority of these women are discriminated [2,4]. This is evidenced by the fact that most women with disabilities attend antenatal care (ANC), but a bigger number of these deliver in the hands of Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) due to the fear of being mistreated including laughed at in the health facilities by the health care providers and other women without disabilities [4,5].…”

“…Whereas the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)-5 aims to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls including women with disabilities, there is uncertainty that may hinder attaining this as majority of these women are discriminated [2,4]. This is evidenced by the fact that most women with disabilities attend antenatal care (ANC), but a bigger number of these deliver in the hands of Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) due to the fear of being mistreated including laughed at in the health facilities by the health care providers and other women without disabilities [4,5]. Additionally, many women with disability face transportation problems due to long distances they have to travel to the facilities and worst of all, they are perceived by the normal population to be asexual [3].…”