Motvindens moderskap
en studie om moderskap och intellektuell funktionsnedsättning
The study seeks to from professionals perspectives describe and analyze the beliefs they have about women with intellectual disabilities and their pregnancy and motherhood. We will also discuss and reflect on the possible support that professionals find important for women to handle pregnancy and motherhood. The information has been gathered through interviews with five different professions that have come in contact with the audience in their work. In our material we found three distinctive perspectives: a child´s perspective, a parent´s perspective and a community perspective. From these perspectives, we could find many similarities in the informants´ perceptions, which resulted in different themes. These themes are: "Attachment and love is the most important", "Little children - little worry, big kids - big trouble", "The civil right to have children", "Parents dynasty limitations", "Promotion and aggravating factors", "Support in different forms", "To influence and be affected" and "Collaboration and visions for the future ". The results of the study indicate a belief that everyone has the right to have children and it is the community?s responsibility to put adequate measures to which the parental ability is not enough. An ambivalence among the professionals have interpreted when they are experiencing difficulties and sometimes conflicting demands of the role of relating to one part children's right to a safe and caring nursery and on the other hand, the mother's right to autonomy over her own lives. An important prerequisite for a functioning maternity highlighted is that the mother has the ability to bond with her children, and other practical efforts that society can come in with. The interpretation is that the community´s attitudes have changed over time towards a more positive attitude among the professional abilities with appropriate assistance for managing a maternity. The analysis is based on theories of social construction, empowerment, power, and the proximal development zone.