Disability Inclusion & Health

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Reproductive Health Care Should Exclude No One

Making fertility, maternal, and reproductive health information and services genuinely accessible to people living with disabilities.

Overview

People living with disabilities are too often left out of reproductive and fertility health conversations altogether, treated as though these topics don’t apply to them. This is neither accurate nor fair. Our Disability Inclusion & Health Program works to ensure that people with physical, sensory, intellectual, and other disabilities have equal access to reproductive health education, fertility support, and maternal care, and the basic dignity of being seen as whole people with the same hopes for love, family, and parenthood as anyone else.

Why It Matters

Persons with disabilities frequently face compounded barriers: inaccessible clinic facilities, healthcare providers without disability-competent training, assumptions that they are not sexually active or should not become parents, and a near-total absence of reproductive health materials in accessible formats such as sign language, braille, plain language, or audio. These barriers translate into real harm: delayed diagnoses, unmet family planning needs, and social isolation during already vulnerable health journeys. Inclusion is not a favor we extend; it is a baseline standard of care.

What We Do

  • Accessible Health Education — Reproductive and fertility health materials adapted into accessible formats and delivered through disability-inclusive channels and partner organizations.
  • Provider Sensitization Training — Training healthcare workers and our own staff on disability-competent, respectful care, delivered in partnership with our Training & Capacity Building Program.
  • Barrier-Free Referral Pathways — Identifying and recommending clinics and facilities with accessible infrastructure for people with mobility, sensory, or other disabilities.
  • Advocacy for Inclusive Policy — Pushing for reproductive health policies and facility standards that explicitly include persons with disabilities, in partnership with our Advocacy, Research & Policy Program.
  • Partnerships with Disability Organizations — Collaborating with disability advocacy groups to co-design programs and reach community members directly, on their terms.
  • Individualized Family Planning & Fertility Support — Care built around each person’s specific needs and informed consent, never assumptions about what they want or can handle.

Who We Serve

Individuals living with physical, sensory, intellectual, or developmental disabilities; their partners and families; disability rights organizations; and healthcare providers seeking training in disability-inclusive reproductive care.

Our Approach

  1. Listen — Partner with disability-led organizations to understand real barriers, not assumed ones.
  2. Adapt — Deliver information and services in accessible formats and settings.
  3. Train — Build provider competence in respectful, disability-inclusive care.
  4. Advocate — Push for policy and infrastructure that make inclusion the standard, not the exception.

Help us make reproductive health care inclusive for everyone.

FAQS

Everything you need to know about Fertility Awareness Education.

We cover the complete biological picture of how fertility works. You'll learn:

  • Your menstrual cycle in detail – what's happening each phase, not just the myths you've heard
  • Ovulation and timing – when you're actually fertile (spoiler: it's a shorter window than many people think)
  • What affects fertility – age, health conditions, lifestyle factors, medications, stress
  • Signs something might be wrong – when normal irregularities become concerning
  • Realistic timelines – how long conception typically takes at different ages
  • When to seek professional help – this is crucial and often missed
  • Testing options – what doctors might recommend and why

The goal? You'll understand your body well enough to make informed decisions and recognize when professional help is needed.

No, there's an important difference. Natural family planning is about preventing pregnancy by tracking cycles. Fertility awareness education is about understanding your reproductive health so you can optimize your chances of conception or understand barriers to it.

We teach you the science, not a method. Whether you use that knowledge to prevent or achieve pregnancy is your choice.

First consultation: Typically 60 minutes. We go deep your medical history, current situation, concerns, goals.

Follow-up sessions: 30-45 minutes, depending on what you need.

If you want to attend a group workshop instead of one-on-one, those are usually 2-3 hours and cover foundational knowledge for multiple couples at once.

Absolutely, and we encourage it. Many couples have different understandings of how fertility works. When you both learn together, you're on the same page and can make decisions as a team.

If your partner can't attend, we're happy to work with you alone. But couples who come together tend to have better outcomes because they're making informed decisions together.

That's exactly what we prepare you for. At the end of your education session, we'll:

  • Assess whether your situation warrants medical investigation
  • Refer you to appropriate specialists if needed
  • Help you understand what tests or evaluations might be recommended
  • Connect you with our referral support services if you need a medical professional

Education is step one. If you need step two, we'll guide you there.