TOPLINE: 

In the US, women with disabilities who recently gave birth reported lower receipt of perinatal care services, especially during prenatal and postpartum visits. Discussions on health management and risk factors were less frequent for these women than for those without disabilities.

METHODOLOGY: 

• Researchers examined the receipt of care during different perinatal stages by disability status among women who had recently given birth in the US, using a cross-sectional design.
• They analyzed data of 41,027 participants across 24 US states (October 2018 to December 2020) using the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, with questionnaires completed by women 2-6 months post-delivery.
• A supplement to the system — the Washington Group Short Set of Questions on Disability — was used to assess the extent of functional difficulties among participants in areas such as seeing, hearing, walking, remembering, practicing self-care, and communicating. Response options ranged from no difficulty to unable to do it at all.
• Participants reported on the screening, services, and counseling they received before pregnancy and during prenatal and postpartum visits.
• Researchers estimated prevalence ratios and compared participants with any difficulty, including some or a lot of difficulty, to those without difficulties.

TAKEAWAY: 

• Overall, 60.1% of participants reported no functional difficulty, 33.7% reported some difficulty, and 6.2% reported a lot of difficulty.
• During pre-pregnancy visits, women with any functional difficulty reported lower prevalence of discussions on improving health before pregnancy (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR], 0.92; 95% CI, 0.86-0.98) and on sexually transmitted infections (aPR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.83-0.95) than those without difficulty.
• During prenatal visits, women with any difficulty vs without those difficulty had reduced prevalence of discussions on gestational weight gain (aPR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.85-0.91), emotional or physical harm (aPR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.92-0.96), HIV testing (aPR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.87-0.92), and the use of birth control after pregnancy (aPR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.94-0.96).
• Women with any functional difficulty noted fewer discussions on folic acid intake (aPR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.85-0.91), healthy lifestyle and loss of weight gained during pregnancy (aPR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.82-0.88), and diabetes testing (aPR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.67-0.77) than those without difficulty during postpartum checkups.

IN PRACTICE: 

"Given the additional barriers faced by people with disabilities, it is important to identify strategies that encourage and empower them to participate in decision making," the authors wrote. "[The study] findings underscore the need for strategies to facilitate effective communication between clinicians and their patients with disabilities, meeting patients' specific needs and preferences and including them in making informed decisions for their health," they added.

SOURCE: 

The study was led by Andrea L. Deierlein, PhD, MPH, of the School of Global Public Health at New York University. It was published online on November 25, 2025, in Obstetrics & Gynecology.

LIMITATIONS: 

Data were collected only from women who recently gave birth in 24 states. The study design and reliance on self-reported data may have introduced recall bias. The questions used did not account for the cause or onset of disabilities; therefore, difficulties that existed before pregnancy or developed during or after it may be included.

DISCLOSURES: 

The study did not report any specific funding. The authors reported having no relevant conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.