“That's who I choose to be”: The mother identity for women with intellectual disabilities

SynopsisWithin scholarly discussion about the mother identity and how it is assumed, women with intellectual disabilities are silent. While debate has explored the experiences of many considered to mother outside the margins of the motherhood institution, the experiences of this group of women lies beyond that reach. This paper presents findings from a phenomenological study into becoming a mother for women with intellectual disabilities. The experiences of these women broaden our conceptual understanding of a well debated phenomenon and suggest that their social networks are integral to the development of the mother identity. As mother, the women with intellectual disabilities in this study aligned themselves with a key person in their social network who advocated for and supported them as the central figure in the life of their babies. Examining the experiences of perhaps the most marginalised of women serves to expand understanding of the means by which women come to understand themselves as mothers and assume the identity of mother.