Motherhood as perceived by childless women with long-term spinal cord injury
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26881/ndps.2023.48.01Keywords:
maternity, childlessness, long-term spinal cord injury, women with disabilities, physical disabilityAbstract
The issue of motherhood for women with disabilities is increasingly being taken up by researchers of this issue. Mostly one can find works carried out in the stream of qualitative research. The purpose of this study was to find out how childless women with long-term spinal cord injury perceive motherhood. The participants in the study were 10 women with long-term spinal cord injury, ranging in age from 32 to 63. A qualitative approach was used, and the data collection method was an in-depth individual interview. Interviews were conducted in eastern and central Poland. Defining motherhood, the respondents pointed out the obviousness of this role in the life of every woman also with disabilities, pointing out some limitations in this regard. According to the respondents, the decision of women with physical disabilities to have offspring is more complicated and more difficult than for non-disabled women. The respondents mostly declared unintentional childlessness.
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