Mothers with intellectual disabilities: interactions with children and family services in Ireland

Abstract

Accessible summary This article is about women with intellectual disability who have children. The article tells the stories of four women with intellectual disabilities in Ireland who have children. It also explains how hard it was at times for them to work with Child and Family Services. Many mothers with intellectual disabilities want to keep their babies. Women with intellectual disabilities who are mothers should be provided with proper support to help them care for their children. SummaryTraditionally, women with intellectual disabilities have faced challenges in accessing effective public health services and social service provision during pregnancy and early motherhood. The authors report on the experiences of four women with intellectual disabilities in their interactions with childcare services in the Republic of Ireland. They discuss the women's feelings of isolation, fears of losing their children and the disempowering effects of inadequate, ubiquitous responses adopted by many professionals and services. This study recommends a person‐centred, rights‐based approach to meeting the needs of these women.