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Improving reproductive health care services for women with a physical disability: Insights from a community survey of women with spinal cord injury in Switzerland
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  • Sue Bertschy,
  • Cristina Bostan,
  • Petra Stute,
  • Dimitrios Skempes,
  • Franziska Maurer-Marti,
  • Armin Gemperli
Sue Bertschy
Swiss Paraplegic Research

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Cristina Bostan
Swiss Paraplegic Research
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Petra Stute
Insel Hospital Group
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Dimitrios Skempes
Swiss Paraplegic Research
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Franziska Maurer-Marti
Solothurn Hospital Group
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Armin Gemperli
Swiss Paraplegic Research
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Abstract

Objective: To describe a cohort of women with a physical disability in various reproductive life stages to support the development of specific management targets, especially during the fertile stage. Design: Community survey. Population / Sample: We analysed data from 440 female participants with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) aged over 16 years from the cross-sectional community survey of the Swiss Spinal Cord Injury Cohort Study (SwiSCI) in 2017. Methods: The full cohort was analysed using descriptive analysis. For women in the fertile reproductive life stage, a regression technique was used to identify the predictors of becoming a mother after SCI. Results: More than 50% of the sample were aged over 56, and approximately one fourth were in the fertile (16-45 years) age group. Motherhood after SCI was most prevalent in women with low and incomplete lesions and those who sustained an SCI at a young age. The chances of giving birth significantly decreased when sustaining an SCI after the age of 35. The mean age at first delivery after SCI (age 31.2±5 years) was five years higher compared to women with an SCI who gave birth before sustaining SCI (age 26.2±5 years). Conclusions: The study provides evidence for the need for tailored and specific lifespan adjusted obstetric and gynaecological services for women with SCI and for women with a disability in general. Funding: This study has been financed through the framework of the Swiss Spinal Cord Injury Cohort Study supported by the Swiss Paraplegic Foundation.
2020Published in Clinical Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine volume 6 issue 6. 10.15761/COGRM.1000313