title: "How did that happen?" Public responses to women with mobility disability during pregnancy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Little is known about current societal attitudes toward women with significant mobility disability who are visibly pregnant.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To use qualitative descriptive analysis methods to examine perceptions of women with significant mobility disability about how strangers reacted to their visible pregnancies.
  
  
  METHODS
  In late 2013, we conducted 2-h telephone interviews with 22 women with significant mobility difficulties who had delivered babies within the prior 10 years. The semi-structured, open-ended interview protocol addressed wide-ranging pregnancy-related topics, including statements from strangers. Most participants were recruited through social networks, coming from 17 states nationwide. We used NVivo to sort the texts for content analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The women's mean (standard deviation) age was 34.8 (5.3) years; most were white, well-educated, and higher income, although half had Medicaid during their pregnancies; and 18 used wheeled mobility aids. Eighteen women described memorable interactions with strangers relating to their pregnancies or newborn babies. Strangers' statements fell into six categories: (1) curious; (2) intrusively and persistently curious; (3) hostile, including concerns that taxpayers would end up supporting the mother and child; (4) questioning woman's competence as a potential parent; (5) oblivious, not recognizing visible pregnancy or motherhood; and (6) positive. Many women reported strangers asking how their pregnancy had happened. The women doubted that visibly pregnant women without disabilities evoke the same reactions from strangers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Women with mobility disability who are visibly pregnant may perceive reactions from strangers that appear intrusive. Planning ahead for handling such encounters could reduce the stresses of these interactions.
authors.affiliation: Mongan Institute for Health Policy, Massachusetts General Hospital, USA; Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, USA. Electronic address: liezzoni@mgh.harvard.org.
authors.forename: Lisa I
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Iezzoni
authors.affiliation: Mongan Institute for Health Policy, Massachusetts General Hospital, USA.
authors.forename: Amy J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Wint
authors.affiliation: Center for Nursing Research, Villanova University College of Nursing, USA.
authors.forename: Suzanne C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Smeltzer
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Massachusetts General Hospital, USA; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Harvard Medical School, USA.
authors.forename: Jeffrey L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Ecker
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D005260:Female; D006791:Hostility; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008875:Middle Aged; D051346:Mobility Limitation; D009035:Mothers; D010465:Perception; D011247:Pregnancy; D011287:Prejudice; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013240:Stereotyping; D014910:Wheelchairs
keywords: Disability; Pregnancy; Public; Qualitative research; Societal attitudes