The Childbirth Experience and Life Satisfaction among Women with Disabilities

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to show the association between the childbirth experience and life satisfaction among women with disabilities and estimate the moderating effect of family strengths and social support.Methods: The target sample included disabled married women aged 20-49 years. We used the Disability and Life Dynamics Panel 2018. The total number of participants was 220. Three groups were defined based on the childbirth experience: women who had never given birth (13.6%), those who gave birth before the onset of disability (73.2%), and those who gave birth after the onset of disability (13.2%). We identified differences in general characteristics, family strengths, social support, and life satisfaction across the 3 groups and examined the moderating effect of family strengths and social support for the childbirth experience and life satisfaction.Results: Women who gave birth after the onset of disability were in better health, exhibiting longer disability retention periods. The multiple regression analysis revealed that among women who gave birth after the onset of disability, life satisfaction was significantly higher than that of women without the childbirth experience because of the moderating effect of family strengths. However, social support had no significant effect on the childbirth experience and life satisfaction.Conclusion: We empirically analyzed the status of childbirth before and after the onset of disability using representative survey data. The findings indicate a positive moderating effect of family strengths on the level of life satisfaction among women with disabilities.