"Yes, I can bond." Reflections of autistic women's mothering experiences in the early postpartum period.

BACKGROUND: Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition affecting communication and social interaction. Much of the research regarding childbirth and motherhood is focused on non-autistic women. Autistic mothers may experience challenges communicating their needs to health care professionals and find aspects of the hospital environment distressing, indicating a need for more informed practice. OBJECTIVE: To describe the experiences of autistic women bonding with their newborns after delivery in an acute care setting. DESIGN: The study used a qualitative interpretative description design with data analysis using the method described by Knafl and Webster. The study explored the women's childbirth experiences in the early postpartum period. METHOD: Interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview guide. The women were interviewed in a setting of their choosing and included in person meetings, meetings over Skype, over the telephone, or via Facebook messenger. Twenty-four women ages 29-65 years participated in the study. The women were from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. All women gave birth to a healthy term newborn in an acute care setting. RESULTS: Three major themes emerged from the data: having difficulty communicating, feeling stressed in an uncertain environment, and being an autistic mother. CONCLUSION: The autistic mothers in the study expressed love and concern for their babies. Some women described needing more time to recover physically and emotionally before assuming care of the newborn. The stress of childbirth left them exhausted and the demands of caring for a newborn could be overwhelming for some women. Miscommunication during labor affected some of the women's ability to trust the nurses caring for them and, in two cases, left the women feeling judged as mothers.

Childbirth Experiences of Women With Autism Spectrum Disorder in an Acute Care Setting.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the childbirth experiences of women with autism spectrum disorder. DESIGN: Qualitative interpretive description design and data analysis using Knafl and Webster. SETTING: Women were interviewed in the environment of their choosing: in the home, over the telephone, or via Skype or Facebook Messenger. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-four women ages 29 to 65 years from the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, all of whom gave birth to healthy newborns in an acute care setting. METHOD: Interviews were conducted using a semistructured interview guide. RESULTS: Three main themes emerged from the data: Having Difficulty Communicating, Feeling Stressed in an Uncertain Environment, and Being an Autistic Mother. Each of these themes also included several subthemes. CONCLUSION: Study participants expressed difficulty communicating with nurses in a variety of ways. The degree of difficulty in communication varied among participants. Problems in communication included trouble conveying needs, alerting nurses when they felt ill, or not understanding what was said to them. Ineffective communication with nurses resulted in feelings of anxiety and being scared and inhibited participants in further attempts at communication. Nurses caring for women with ASD through the childbirth period should be aware that communication needs will vary for each woman, and interventions to facilitate safe and effective communication in labor should be individualized to each woman.