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Women with illnesses and
disabilities have the same needs for love, sex, and family as everyone else.
But, in some cases, having an illness or disability can affect your sexual
life, choice of birth control method, and pregnancy. There are ways around
many of the problems that can come up. To solve these problems, it helps
greatly if you can discuss them freely with your sexual partner, doctor, and
other health care workers.
Sexual Health
Many women with disabilities have
active and satisfying sex lives. Their bodies may not respond in quite the
same way as those without disabilities. For instance, a woman with a spinal
cord injury may have no feeling in her vagina. But she can respond with
pleasure to touch on upper parts of the body and even feel pleasure like
orgasms.
If you have a disability, talk
with your partner about any limitations you have and about ways in which you
may respond to sexual stimulation. Good things to talk about are:
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where it is easiest to have sex―for
instance, on the bed, in your wheelchair, or on the floor
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which positions are most
comfortable and least likely to hurt
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how your disability affects how
your body works
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how you can give each other
pleasure
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what times of the day or week
you are likely to have the most energy for sex (if you tire easily or use
medicines that can lower your desire for sex)
People with an
intellectual disability (who have trouble learning or understanding)
also have a right to have a healthy sex life and have children if they want.
They might not always understand what agreeing to have sex involves or
appropriate sexual behavior. But through education and guidance, many adults
with intellectual disabilities can have meaningful sexual relationships.
Laws about sexual consent and sexual limits for people with intellectual
disabilities vary from state to state. For more information on these issues
in your state, please contact your state government.
Reproduction Health
There is no good reason why most
women with disabilities cannot have safe pregnancies and give birth to
healthy babies. Still, having a disability may affect some parts of
pregnancy and birth. If you have a disability and want to become pregnant,
you should discuss these things with your doctor:
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What are your chances of having
a child with a disability? Most disabilities are not inherited (passed on
through genes that you give to your child), but a few are. One example of
an inherited disease is
cystic fibrosis. In some cases, there are lab tests that you and your
partner can take to find out your chances of having a child with a
disability.
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Will your disability affect
your health while you are pregnant or the health or development of your
baby?
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If you use medicines regularly,
will they affect your developing baby? For instance, some antiseizure
medicines used to treat
epilepsy increase the risk of birth defects when taken by a pregnant
woman. Your doctor may want to switch you to another type of antiseizure
medicine that poses less risk to your developing baby.
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Is your disability likely to
cause problems during labor or delivery? For instance, during the birth,
you will need to keep your legs open wide for two to three hours. Women
with
cerebral palsy cannot do this and so their babies need to be delivered
by
c-section.
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If you don't want to become
pregnant, you will need to use birth control. Your birth control options
might also be affected by your disability. For instance,
diaphragms and cervical caps may not be suitable for women who have
limited use of their hands or who cannot open their legs very wide. Talk
with your doctor about which birth control method would be best for you.
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