The Heller School for Social Policy and Management
National Center for Disability and Pregnancy Research

Our Community Blog

Welcome to the National Center for Disability and Pregnancy Research's community blog page! On this page you'll find our blog feed—a list of published blog posts that discuss pregnancy among disabled people from various angles and across a wide range of experiences.

The Pregnancy Center's blog originally began as an offshoot of the blog for the National Research Center for Parents with Disabilities, also housed at the Lurie Institute for Disability Policy. However, with numerous posts submitted that especially concerned pregnancy and childbirth, we felt it was time to make room for our own community blog focused on pregnancy and birth experiences. That's what you find here on this page.

Have an idea for a blog post? Check out our submission guidelines here. 

And please enjoy previous blog posts on pregnancy and disability that we have compiled below.

Recent Blog Posts

Kristin Wilks, "I Thought I Failed — Until I Realized the System Failed Me as A Deaf Mom"

I Thought I Failed — Until I Realized the System Failed Me as A Deaf Mom

"For a long time, I carried the heavy feeling that I had failed. I didn’t feel fully part of my own birth or postpartum experience, and it left me wondering: What could I have done differently? What could have made it better?"

By Kristin Wilks | May 2026

Preeclampsia’s Far Worse than Childbirth: What My Doctors Didn’t Tell Me about Placenta Abruption

“The amount of blood you’re losing is far more than typical for a regular labor,” said the doctor. “I think you’re having a placenta abruption with one of your twins.”

By Chelsea Devona | March 2025

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Browse Our Full Set of Blog Posts on Disabled People and Pregnancy!

I Thought I Failed — Until I Realized the System Failed Me as A Deaf Mom

May 09, 2026

by Kristin Wilks My name is Kristin. I am Deaf with Cochlear implants and I use both spoken English and ASL. My husband Steven is Deaf and is a fully ASL user. In 2021, my first pregnancy and birth happened during the height of the COVID pandemic, which was a time filled with restrictions, masks, …

Continue reading "I Thought I Failed — Until I Realized the System Failed Me as A Deaf Mom"

Preeclampsia’s far worse than childbirth: What my doctors didn’t tell me about placenta abruption

Mar 27, 2025

Preeclampsia can damage or destroy almost every one of the mother’s organs and is risky for the baby too—it can reduce a baby’s access to blood, oxygen, and nutrients. Preeclampsia is so dangerous that doctors often induce labor shortly after diagnosis even if the baby is premature.

After the diagnosis: Battling HG for a healthy twin pregnancy

May 29, 2024

by Chelsea Devona NOTE: In this post, Chelsea describes her experience after receiving a diagnosis of hyperemesis gravidarum. Her earlier post describes her experience up to the diagnosis. The physical toll of a pregnancy with twins with a diagnosis of hyperemesis gravidarum was enormous. I experienced intense nausea immediately and it continued throughout my entire …

Continue reading "After the diagnosis: Battling HG for a healthy twin pregnancy"