The Lived Experiences of Neurodivergent Birthing People in Australia: A Qualitative, Reflexive Analysis

The experience of childbirth and parenting is both transformative and steeped in uncertainty. Disabled birth parents often experience additional barriers to able-bodied people in terms of achieving a positive birth experience. Redshaw et al. (2013) note that women with disabilities often experience multiple oppressions and forms of discrimination restricting their ability to achieve full societal participation. Despite growing societal awareness of neurodivergence as a neurological difference to be viewed through the lens of human rights and identity rather than a pathological defect, prevailing academic, medical and popular conceptions remain contested. Moreover, scholarly literature on neurodivergent mothers and birthing people remains scant. What exists reveals that autistic mothers in particular experience more difficulties in terms of verbal communication and sensory sensitivities in healthcare settings, engendering significant anxiety and trauma.

My qualitative PhD research focuses on the childbirth and parenting experiences of 15 birth parents identifying as neurodivergent (ADHD and Autistic). Utilising a neuroaffirming lens, it aims to better understand their experiences and amplify their voices. Importantly, I examine the issue methodologically from my insider positionality as a late-diagnosed neurodivergent mother. Invoking the Critical Disability and Mad Studies movements, ‘a politics of neurological diversity recognises power inequalities between people differently situated in relation to neurology, comparable with social stratifications such as class, gender, and ethnicity’ (Rosqvist et al., 2020).