Background
Autistic people are at higher risk of adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes, and are more likely to experience ill-mental health during the perinatal period.
Research has showed that autistic people often face barriers to accessing maternity care, including feeling misunderstood by healthcare professionals, experiencing sensory overwhelm which affects people’s ability to communicate needs, and generally feeling as though their needs are not met across the perinatal period.
This project aims to understand what we currently know about autistic people’s perinatal care experiences, and to build on current knowledge to provide policy and practice recommendations on how perinatal care can be best provided to meet autistic people’s needs.
Project Overview
The project is broken down into three separate studies (two work packages):
STUDY ONE – (Work Package 1a)
An umbrella review of current knowledge relating to perinatal care experiences of autistic women and people. See: PROSPERO for more information.
STUDY TWO – (Work Package 1b)
A document analysis to uncover what support is currently available for autistic women and people accessing perinatal care in the United Kingdom, and to determine the gaps which remain in policy and practice.
STUDY THREE – (Work Package 2)
A longitudinal qualitative study using creative interview methods with autistic women and birthing people to capture their strories of accessing care across pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. Study materials can be found here: Study Materials