Your Pregnancy, Your Choices

NI and disAbility Maternity Care are thrilled to launch our resources from our ‘Supported Decision Making for Women with Intellectual Disability During Pregnancy’ project. We have called the resource set ‘Your Pregnancy, Your Choices!’

Who helped us create the resources?
The resources were co-designed with women with intellectual disability who were pregnant or who had had a baby.

Where did we hold workshops?
We held three phases of workshops – each phase included workshops in Parramatta and Port Macquarie.

What happened in each of the phases of the workshops?
The first phase workshops gave us perspectives from participants on what they thought went well during and after their pregnancy, what decisions they were given choice to make and what decisions they weren’t give choice to make.

Our second phase workshops explored content detail for resources for the following themes which were identified as most wanted/needed in our first phase workshops/interviews:

• Resource to support understanding of mothers’ medication reduction (for safety of the baby)
• A two-way communication resource which outlines participant choice for a birth plan and post birth and how health practitioners (nurses, midwives, doctors etc) can best communicate with a participant with ID
• Tests in pregnancy – what are the options, why they are recommended and participant choices
• Care options – exploring different antenatal care options – what they are and their differences
• Birth pain relief options – their risks and advantages and your choices
• Contraception options after birth

While themes for six different resources were explored in our second phase workshops, we landed on the production of five resources and two were quite different from what we originally expected… because that is what happens in co-design!

Our third phase workshops gathered input/approval from our participants before we finalised the resources for distribution.

Your Pregnancy, Your Choices
Our resources are ready! Please download them as you wish:

Two Way Communication Card_A5

Different ways to be cared for when you are pregnant

Taking medications in your pregnancy

Things that help with pain when you are having a baby

Your Pregnancy, Your Choices – A Guide for Support People

We want your feedback!
Please send us your feedback… we want to know if the resources are working well … or not! Contact us at:
E: info@northcottinnovation.com.au
P: 0428 171 326

This project is funded by a grant from Council for Intellectual Disability and is part of a project about supported decision making called My Rights Matter.

Find more information about the CID, their Supported Decision Making hub and the My Rights Matter project here.