The essential guide to conception, pregnancy, birth, and postpartum for neurodivergent families. For neurodivergent people, the path to, through, and beyond pregnancy can bring excitement, anticipation, and profound uncertainty. Medical systems often fail to recognize the ways that ADHD, autism, anxiety, depression, PTSD, and other forms of neurodivergence shape the experience of trying to conceive, navigating pregnancy, giving birth, and caring for a newborn. In Neurodivergent and Expecting, Katie Rose Pryal, PhD, offers the resource she wished had existed when she became a parent: a practical, realistic, research-informed guide written specifically for neurodivergent people and the people who support them. Drawing on her own experiences as a neurodivergent mother, interviews with parents from a wide range of backgrounds, and the latest research on maternal mental health, Pryal examines the challenges that too often go unaddressed in conventional pregnancy guides, and by healthcare professionals working with neurodivergent patients. She explores executive functioning demands, communication with health care providers, sensory sensitivities, medication decisions, anxiety, postpartum depression, and the barriers that neurodivergent people encounter in seeking effective care. Throughout, she provides helpful, realistic strategies for self-advocacy, planning, and building support systems that meet individual needs. At its heart, this book is about helping neurodivergent people approach pregnancy with confidence rather than fear. Neurodivergent and Expecting empowers readers to make informed choices, advocate for appropriate care, and create a childbearing experience that supports both parent and child.
