“Oh, you’ll just know. You’re a smart girl. You’ll be fine.”

I remember those words from my obstetrician like it was yesterday. And, while she genuinely felt she was empowering me to be confident about my upcoming labor and delivery, she terrified me to the core.

That conversation, like hundreds of others I’ve had, made me realize so many people, including doctors, really have no clue about someone like me. My obstetrician had no experience working with a paraplegic in her practice before — an all too familiar role I often played in my life of being “differently abled” and their first like me. I don’t blame her for not knowing, just as I don’t blame myself for being afraid.

In this article Ryan provides a very informative account of her birthing experiences and she states that “going forward, I want to make sure every paraplegic mom-to-be has the support and knowledge and access to care that she needs and deserves to have a healthy pregnancy, delivery and birth, so luck is no longer any part of the equation.”

You can read more about Ryan and connect with her on her website: Ryan Rae Harbuck