A READING woman has met with MPs to demand change over advice given to her regarding her pregnancy.
Dani Watts, 35, sustained a spinal cord injury seven years ago as the result of an illegal rugby tackle, which left paralysed from the waist down.
She believed it would be hard to have any more children, but in 2022 she was thrilled to discover that she had become pregnant.
Things were going smoothly right up until the birth when the medical team discovered complications which put both mother and baby at risk.
Following the traumatic though successful birth of her daughter Isla, medical professionals promised Dani a procedure to alleviate the condition which had caused this issue.
Despite this, the procedure never happened.
Dani was busy juggling the demands of being a new mum and navigating the world as a disabled woman when doctors became concerned.
She explained: “When [her daughter] Isla was around 7 months I was admitted into hospital for pain and assumed it was related to my condition as I constantly live with debilitating neuropathic pain, however they told me I was pregnant again and I was like ‘oh wow.’”
Due to the previous medical procedure not being carried out, Dani and her partner Pete were told by doctors that she had no choice but to terminate the pregnancy, despite wanting to keep the baby.
She explained: “I not only had to find a clinic who would carry out the abortion, but to find a clinic that would take a disabled person was insane.
“I remember being on the phone to a clinic and being told they wouldn’t be able to have me because I was in a wheelchair and I had to argue to have something done to me that I did not want doing.
“I remember just feeling utter guilt and shame upon myself.”
Dani believes all of this could have been avoided: “Without this procedure, I can never have any more kids–why was I told one’s enough?
“Why should I be limited to having just one child because I have a spinal cord injury?”
On Monday, February 24, she attended a round table meeting in Westminster to share her experiences, and was joined by a number of members of parliament.
She recalled other distressing incidents where she was denied two crucial MRI scans in hospital because they lacked an MRI-compatible chair and refused to use lift options reserved for emergencies.
She is now working with Spinal Injuries Association’s campaigns team as part of their Women’s Health Taskforce.
The charity is working towards making women’s healthcare, including diagnosis and treatment, accessible to disabled women like herself, who are often not accommodated in healthcare settings.
For Dani, SIA’s Women’s Health Taskforce will help raise awareness by highlighting individual experiences like hers to address the barriers disabled women face in healthcare settings.
As part of the campaign, a petition has been launched urging the government to increase funding to ensure every medical facility is properly equipped to provide equal care.
Dharshana Shridhar, head of campaigns at SIA said: “These experiences underscore the urgent need for improved accessibility and specialised care within the healthcare system to ensure disabled women receive equitable and effective treatment.”
Dani said: “It starts with the right people hearing lived experiences.
“I’ve had to battle a system that’s not delivering the same healthcare I could access before I was a disabled woman.
“I believe that comes from a lack of knowledge.”
