A Qualitative Study of Embodiment Among Women with Physical Disabilities During the Perinatal Period and Early Motherhood

This qualitative study explores how women with physical disabilities experience the transition to motherhood with an emphasis on embodiment and care experiences. Participants of this study include 13 women with a range of physical disabilities, including cerebral palsy and spinal cord injury, who live in Ontario and have given birth in the last five years. This study serves as Lesley's doctoral project and she is currently in the process of writing up the findings as part of her dissertation.

Find out more information about the project and more frequent updates.

Team Members:

• Lesley Tarasoff (PI)
• Lori Ross (Supervisor)
• Carol Strike (Supervisor)
• Karen Yoshida (Committee Member)

Main Contact:

Lesley Tarasoff (lesley.tarasoff@utoronto.ca)

Major Funding Sources:

SSHRC Canada Doctoral Award (2014-2016); CIHR‐STIHR Fellowship in Health Care, Technology, and Place (2014-2015); Queen Elizabeth II/Inge and Ralf Hoffmann Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology (2012-2014); Helen Marion Walker-Soroptimist Women’s Health Research Scholarship (2012)

Outcomes:

• "We don't know. We've never had anybody like you before": Barriers to perinatal care for women with physical disabilities

Community Report:

• Becoming Mothers: Experiences of Mothers with Physical Disabilities in Ontario