"Giving birth is like a quick introduction to disability"

There's a bit of a parental feel about this week's podcast. Two mums from Nottingham were categorised in a hospital computer system as having learning disabilities and, they say, received poor treatment as a result. Claire Whyte and Elizabeth Jones are autistic but their local NHS trust only has the ability to (inappropriately) categorise them as having a learning disability, because there is no neurodivergent box to tick on the system. They say they were spoken to in simplified language and had decisions about their care made without consulting them. As a result, they felt patronised and left out of their own maternity care. Presenter Emma Tracey speaks to them and we get a response from the NHS and the company, System C, who make the app. Emma also speaks to Jessica Slice, author of newly published and ironically titled book Unfit Parent: A Disabled Mother Challenges an Inaccessible World. In it she maintains that disabled people are unusually placed to have the skills to be parents. She says her life as someone with POTS and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, has made her more resilient, patient, tolerant of pain, and thinks disabled people shouldn't be written off as mums and dads ... and a whole lot more. Presenter: Emma Tracey Producer: Beth Rose Sound recording and mix: Dave O'Neill Editor: Damon Rose