Literature Review on Provision of Appropriate and Accessible ...

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- Nine women contacted the PAS at 12 weeks’ gestation or
later, compared with 20 per cent of all women who accessed
PAS in 2006.
- <strong>Literature</strong> Five women <strong>Review</strong> were on at Provision 18 or more of Appropriate weeks’ gestation and Accessible when PAS
Support was contacted, to People compared with an Intellectual with less Disability than two who per are cent of all
Experiencing Crisis Pregnancy
women who accessed PAS in 2006; two of these five women
had several children and did not recognise the pregnancy
signs.
- Issues associated with late recognition of pregnancy included
the pregnancy being recognised too late to consider options.
• Delayed decision-making about options and contact with the PAS
was evident:
- Four women delayed four weeks or more.
- Factors relevant to delayed decision-making were that there
was a reliance on others for assistance.
- The impact of family/partner’s wishes arose. Three women
did not proceed with the option of abortion and lost family/
partner support; four women attended PAS only through
worker intervention/assistance.
• Contact occurred too late for some women to consider the option
of abortion; 10 women (50 per cent) proceeded with abortion
compared with 80 per cent of all women who accessed PAS in
2006.
• The implications of this research, as identified by Burgen (2008,
are that:
- Women with intellectual disability need greater support to
access contraception and health services
- More appropriate and ongoing education and information
on sexual and reproductive health is needed – especially in
recognising pregnancy
- Women’s wishes are not always supported by her family/
partner; therefore formal services and support may be
needed.