How persons with disabilities struggle with reproductive health care
Everyone needs access to reproductive health care, but people with disabilities still face obstacles when trying to get these services.
Josephine Mwende, who was born with cerebral palsy, claims that one of her biggest life challenges has been getting access to reproductive health care.
A collection of neurological conditions and impairments known as cerebral palsy can impair a patient’s posture, mobility, and sense of balance.
Josephine recalls her adolescent years and how she dealt with the bodily changes that come with being a teenager.
At the age of ten, I experienced my first menstrual period, which truly alarmed me. I assumed that my period would arrive a little later in life, even though I had heard my friends discussing it at school. I never thought it would happen so quickly,” she said.
She knew very little about reproductive health as an adolescent. Her limited knowledge came from her schooling. She didn’t know how to maintain her menstrual hygiene.
Mwende claims that because she was unable to afford sanitary towels at her house, she was forced to use cotton wool instead.
“I had very little knowledge about sexual reproduction and was incredibly clueless. Mwende remembers that her mother gave her a cotton wool and shown how to use it for her period.
She made friends with other girls at school right away and eventually gained a lot of knowledge about menstrual hygiene and other reproductive health concerns.
The 32-year-old admits that until she discovered she was pregnant after graduating from college, she was unaware that family planning even existed.
“After experiencing mood swings and missing my menstrual cycle, I decided to test positive for pregnancy at home. I began my prenatal visits and verified that I was expecting,” the woman adds.
She didn’t face any difficulties during her prenatal checkups, even though she didn’t understand why other patients were staring at her sympathetically and some were whispering in her direction.
She had an incredible experience in March 2017 when she was thrown to several medical institutions by medics.
She describes, “My mother hurried me to a nearby hospital the day I was in labor pain, but the staff there informed me that they needed cash to facilitate my delivery and I had to look for another hospital that could accept my insurance cover.”
When her mother brought her to a different hospital, she encountered strong hostility.
She recalls, her eyes welling with tears, “The water had already broken (membrane rapture), but when the medic in charge saw me, he told me that they don’t attend to people of my kind.”
She was fortunately taken to a national hospital very after, where she received treatment and gave birth without incident.
The single mother has now started an online petitioning campaign to equip medical professionals with the knowledge and compassion needed to treat women with cerebral palsy, using the Nguvu collection as a platform.
![How persons with disabilities struggle with reproductive health care](https://dailybrief.co.ke/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/autism.jpg)
Sarah Bosibori, an adult with autism, shares Josephine’s concerns about obtaining reproductive health care in hospitals, therefore she is not alone.
A neurological and developmental condition known as autism spectrum disorder impacts a person’s ability to engage, communicate, learn, and behave in social situations.
“I am quite afraid about visiting a hospital to get services related to reproductive health. How can I tell the doctor that I engage in sexual activity? Sarah strikes a stance.
The 29-year-old’s anxieties stem from her past encounters with popular misconceptions about people with disabilities.
Certain individuals believe that women who have disabilities are asexual. When you arrive at a medical facility, the doctor inquires as to why you require care related to reproductive health,” Sarah adds.
Sarah finds it upsetting that these kinds of questions are only directed against women who have disabilities.
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How persons with disabilities struggle with reproductive health care