By: Victoria White
At the age of 41, I was diagnosed with autism and ADHD. This followed the diagnosis of my eldest daughter at the age of 5, whose experiences of anxiety and sensory overwhelm, alongside difficulties in social relationships, very much mirrored my own. In recognition of this, I sought out my own neurodevelopmental assessment, the result of which has provided some much needed validation of my experiences of the world.
Following my daughter’s birth, I embarked on a postpartum journey of anxiety and overwhelm that would take me a long time to recover from. At the time it looked like a classic story of postnatal depression and anxiety, but nearly 10 years later my diagnoses have given me the opportunity to look back on my own perinatal experiences through a new lens.
If you are supporting a neurodivergent person who is pregnant or a new parent, it can be helpful to think about what their unique needs are in relation to the ‘four support pillars of neurodivergent birth’, sensory processing, communication, executive functioning and mental health. These are areas where many neurodivergent people report experiencing challenges or differences (and positives too), and they are also areas that are likely to be significantly impacted during pregnancy, birth and the postnatal time.
Thinking about perinatal experiences from a sensory perspective is a bit of a minefield! All the senses are impacted, and not just the senses we’re most used to talking about which are sight, sound, touch, smell and taste.
In addition, as our body and our centre of gravity changes, our sense of balance (vestibular sense) is impacted, as is our proprioception, which is our sense of body movement and where our body is within its surrounding environment. Our interoception, which is a sense of what’s happening inside our bodies including thirst, hunger and a full bladder, is also affected as our body experiences new sensations.
In terms of the birth itself, the environment is often clinical with bright lighting and noise, and there may be needles, ultrasound probes, heart rate monitors and other tests and procedures which can involve invasive touch from people we don’t know. We might find the physical sensations of labour and birth overwhelming or interpret and communicate discomfort or pain in a way that might not be considered typical. This can lead to misunderstanding and a lack of support with access to pain relief. During the postnatal period, looking after a new baby can be messy, noisy and feel chaotic.
In terms of communication, many neurodivergent people have different communication styles to neurotypical people, and it might be difficult to access information antenatally in a way that meets information processing needs. In addition, neurodivergent people may experience challenges with executive functioning, which are the set of cognitive skills including time management, organisation, problem-solving, accessing working
memory, impulse control, emotional regulation and attention. Executive functioning challenges can be exacerbated during the postnatal time when we may experience sleep deprivation and sensory overwhelm.
We can’t underestimate the impact that living as a neurodivergent person in a world designed around neurotypical needs has on mental health. The perinatal time adds layers of complexity, and neurodivergent people are at an increased risk of experiencing postnatal depression, postnatal anxiety and birth trauma.
As a neurodivergent person you have a legal right to care that meets your individual needs, and the NHS must make ‘Reasonable Adjustments’ to ensure that you are able to access maternity care in an equitable way, in line with the requirements of the Equality Act 2010.
Neurodivergent Birth CIC is a Scottish-based organisation that exists to improve support for neurodivergent people navigating the perinatal time. We provide accredited CPD training for professionals on supporting neurodivergent perinatal experiences and offer online antenatal education for neurodivergent parents-to-be. Income contributes to the ND Birth Doula Access Fund which neurodivergent people can apply to use for full spectrum doula support.
You can find out more by our work at ndbirth.com or by listening to The Neurodivergent Birth Podcast.
Victoria White is a doula, founder of Neurodivergent Birth CIC and author of ‘Why Neurodivergent Birth Matters’, published by Montag & Martin. She also hosts The Neurodivergent Birth Podcast. You can find out more about the work they do at www.ndbirth.com.
