Supporting Autistic People Through Pregnancy and Childbirth - by Hayley Morgan & Emma Durman & Karen Henry (Paperback)

About the Book

This comprehensive guide helps all birthing and healthcare professionals vastly improve their care and knowledge of autistic pregnant people. It takes a distinctly intersectional and accessible approach to a topic often overlooked and includes management approaches and tools for birth professionals, autistic pregnant people, and their families.

Book Synopsis

This comprehensive and accessible guide is for every birthing and health professional looking to improve their care during pregnancy, birth, and aftercare for autistic women. With a distinct lack of scientifically approached work in this area, this much-needed book takes an intersectional, feminist approach and covers the background of modern birth practices and autism as a diagnosis.
With intersectionality as a core feature, the impact of cultural differences, underdiagnoses, stigma, and stereotypes amongst ethnic minorities is also included. It discusses how pain functions in the autistic brain as well as co-occurring conditions such as alexithymia, chronic pain, epilepsy, and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.
This multidisciplinary author team includes two well-established autism experts, and an experienced midwife and lecturer who provides invaluable birthing insight, as well as approaches for sensation management during birth, insider knowledge on midwifery protocols, and accessible tools for autistic pregnant people and families to use.

Review Quotes

A ground-breaking resource that not only fills a significant gap in literature but also serves as a practical framework for healthcare workers supporting autistic populations. As a therapist specializing in bibliotherapy, particularly with neurodivergent clients, I am immensely impressed with the authors' dedication to promoting equality of access to healthcare for autistic parents.

One of the strengths of this resource is its accessibility. The authors do an excellent job of introducing readers to the diverse characteristics, needs, and struggles of individuals on the autism spectrum. Even for those without prior knowledge, the book provides a thorough understanding through case examples, making it an invaluable tool for healthcare workers, therapists, and anyone involved in supporting autistic individuals on their parenting journey.

The authors skillfully navigate the spectrum of sensitivities, acknowledging both hypersensitivity and hyposensitivity in different areas, fostering a deep understanding among readers.

--NetGalley review

Authoring this book for several audiences: women, professionals, students, and family members is a massive undertaking but one that comes together well. As an academic I especially enjoyed the more theoretical and scientific chapters, but other readers will no doubt prefer different chapters. The uniqueness of women with autism is central to this book, readers too will be different. Whatever your unique motivations are, you will not be disappointed there really is something in this for the academic, the family or friend of a person with autism - and especially those encountering pregnancy, birth, and parenthood. I learned a lot from my readings including invaluable practical tips and further resources to maintain and expand my learning.--Dr Sam Chenery-Morris, Dean of School of Nursing, Midwifery and Public Health, University of Suffolk

About the Author

Hayley Morgan
Hayley Morgan is an autistic mother, educator and advocate. Her passion is that of promoting equality of identity, self and access to healthcare for autistic parents.

Emma Durman
Emma Durman is co-director of AutSide Education and Training, a company that specialises in training, consultancy and support for a wide range of families and professionals. Emma has also worked closely with Welsh Government via ASD Info Wales and the Integrated Autism Services She was intrinsic to the creation of the recently-launched Welsh Government Guidance on Autism and Housing and is a co-ordinator on a pan-European Erasmus Plus project on autism and employment alongside the National Autistic Society.

Karen Henry
Karen Henry is a lecturer in midwifery at the University of Suffolk and a registered midwife. As an autistic mother, her midwifery practice was fuelled by a passion to create accessible maternity care for other autistic women. Karen has studied autism at master's level, has published in several journals and was awarded a Florence Nightingale Foundation scholarship which she used to design and implement maternity support plans for autistic people. Karen also has experience of being a link midwife for autism and learning disabilities in the hospital setting.