Select Media Coverage of Research

Podcasts

Parenting Done Differently: Parents with Disabilities Podcast, with Marjorie Aunos. (2023, February 7). Title and Episode TBD, Season 1. Parents with Disabilities Podcast.

TreeBark Podcast, with Julia Slanina. (2021, May 14). Disability, Pregnancy, and Motherhood, Season 3, Episode 2. TreeBark Podcast.

Accidental Intellectual. (2021, January 26). Dr. Lesley Tarasoff, Episode 3#: Paying it Forward. Season 2 of the Accidental Intellectual Podcast.

(Online) news(papers), magazines, blogs, radio

Broverman, A. (2020, January 14). The surprising truth about having a baby when you’re disabled. LocalLove.ca

Collie, M. (2019, September 22). Canada’s health-care system isn’t designed for parents with disabilities: experts. Global News.

MacDonald, K., & Amuthan, R. (2019, August 13). The Disability and Pregnancy Study. Kelly and Company. Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) [Radio interview]

Ore, J. (2019, April 1). Why parents with disabilities often become advocates for themselves – and their kids. CBC Radio.

Lesley Tarasoff, a public health sciences researcher at the University of Toronto, says parents with disabilities are often compelled to become their own advocates when institutions like the education or health-care systems aren’t prepared for them.

“This can be really tiring and frustrating — having many challenges related to a disability — and then on top of that, having to constantly advocate and educate other people to get services and feel included in things,” she said.

While there are official resources for children with special needs, the same can’t be said for parents who are themselves living with a disability, she says.

Sharpe, B. (2019, March 27). How Canadian Midwives Are Making Birth Better For LGBTQ+ Parents. HuffPost Canada.

Druhan, C. (2018, September 1). Biphobia In Our Own Backyard. IN Magazine.

In one study, Tarasoff and other researchers found that some bi+ participants said the negative experiences they face are so prevalent that they felt an absence of those experiences was a positive thing. But the simple absence of negativity does not create a feeling of inclusion. Removing that ‘no bisexuals’ note on your dating profile does not win you an award for allyship. Letting go of hurtful stereotypes in exchange for more meaningful connection with bi+ people as individuals is a better way forward. For example: don’t think you know someone’s orientation just because of who they are currently partnered with.

Anderson, K. (2017, August 25). Yes, people like me can have babies: What it’s like to give birth as a woman with a physical disability. Today’s Parent. [reprinted in Chatelaine]

She thinks one of the underlying issues that makes it hard for women with physical disabilities to access adequate care is that in our current system, “The pregnant body is assumed to be a non-disabled body.” That means the physical spaces of most maternity wards and the practices of most medical professionals tend to be set up without women with physical disabilities in mind.

Nelson, J. (2015 February 8). Egg-freezing? Put flex time, daycare first. The Globe and Mail.

There’s more work to be done. In a piece published last fall in the Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics, researchers point out that the conversation about egg freezing fails to account for sexual diversity and socioeconomic status. The fact is, they say, the prime users of this technology are wealthier, white, married women. Even if it were completely safe and effective, egg freezing wouldn’t fix the social issues that curb access to reproductive options. 

Gates Cambridge News. (2014, October 22). Scholars debunk idea that social egg freezing is empowering. Gates Cambridge News.

Peesker, S. (2014, January 18). Invisible no more. Daily Xtra.

CBC News. (2013, August 6). Postpartum depression more common in urban areas. CBC News.

Teotonio, I. (2013, August 6). Women in cities at higher risk of postpartum depression. Toronto Star.

Overall, the prevalence of postpartum depression five to 14 months after giving birth was 7.5 per cent. Women in urban areas were at highest risk, with nearly 10 per cent reporting postpartum depression, compared with 6 per cent in rural areas, 7 per cent in semirural and about 5 per cent in semiurban areas.

Researchers note that large urban areas have more immigrants and more women who report having little or no social support during and after pregnancy.

Ubelacker, S. (2013, August 6). New moms living in large cities most at risk for postpartum depression. The Globe and Mail.

Castillo, M. (2013, August 6). Mothers in urban areas may be more prone to postpartum depression. CBS News.