Literature Review on Provision of Appropriate and Accessible ...

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More recent research on mothers’ social support networks involving a
phenomenological study with 17 women in Australia, [90] demonstrated
women’s agency in the creation of support networks prior to a baby’s
birth, and secondly, practical assistance was sought only from people
who affirmed the central role of the woman in the life of her baby (Mayes
et al., 2008). The findings have implications for practice as follows:
• Disability and family-support practitioners should consider their
position in a mother’s support network; the experiences of the
women in the study demonstrated that a mother’s social context
can either support her or undermine her as a mother. This,
the authors suggest, is a sound reason to include the support
of others in any parenting capacity assessment carried out on
mothers with intellectual disability (Booth and Booth, 2002).
Support to People with an Intellectual Disability who are
Accessible
and Appropriate of Provision on <strong>Review</strong> <strong>Literature</strong>
Experiencing Crisis Pregnancy
• Practitioners need to consider the amount of control a woman is
able to exert over those involved with her family, being sensitive
to the fact that the woman may view professional involvement as
an attempt to decentre the support network she has negotiated
for herself and her baby.
• The research indicated that new questions should be included
in support provision for mothers, including - from the mother’s
perspective - who in the network believes in her ability as
mother; who is ⁄ was supportive while she is ⁄ was pregnant; and
who can she count on for assistance without fear that they will
attempt to ‘take over’ the care of her child.
5.7 Professional and training supports for parents with
intellectual disability
For women with intellectual disability who become mothers their
childhood is generally marked by little opportunity to learn the
skills needed to care for a dependent child (Llewellyn et al., 1997). A
substantial body of work demonstrates that parents with intellectual
disability can adequately care for their children given appropriate
90 Same sample as Mayes et al. (2006) described in Section 4.0 on pregnancy
experiences above.