Engelli Çocuğun Sorumlusu Olarak Kadın ve Engelli Anneliği

Abstract

This study primarily focuses on the experience of disabled motherhood, starting mostly with pregnancy. It presents a qualitative research that describes the experience of motherhood for women who either learned about having a disabled baby during pregnancy or after childbirth. The research conducted in-depth interviews with 10 women who gave birth to disabled children and 9 women who chose to abort fetuses diagnosed with disabilities. Additionally, participatory observations were made over four months on support groups, information exchange, and educational meetings formed by disabled mothers on social media.

The study outlines the experiences of disabled mothers facing exclusion, pressure, and blame within the framework of motherhood ideals constructed by family, society, and the state. It reveals that typically, the mother is pointed to as the cause of the disabled baby, indicated either by the woman herself or her close relatives. While being ostracized and accused by family, society, and the state, disabled mothers are simultaneously glorifed and exploited by society and the state due to their assumption of responsibilities toward the disabled individual, thereby idealizing them under the sacred image of motherhood.