Pregnancy comes with a lot to navigate. There are appointments, decisions, blood tests, waiting rooms, unexpected changes, new sensations and a huge amount of information to take in.

If you’re autistic, have ADHD, are dyslexic, dyspraxic or otherwise neurodivergent, some parts of maternity care can feel particularly difficult. That doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with the way you are experiencing pregnancy. Sometimes the environment, communication or way care is delivered simply doesn’t work particularly well for your brain.

I’m a midwife with ADHD and the founder of NeuroNatal Academy, and much of my work focuses on helping maternity services understand this better.

So, if you are neurodivergent and pregnant, here are five things I really want you to know.

Maternity environments can be incredibly sensory. Bright lights, alarms, strong smells, busy waiting rooms, lots of people talking and unexpected touch can quickly become overwhelming.

You might be absolutely fine with some of those things and find others incredibly difficult. Neurodivergent people are not all the same, so there isn’t a standard list of adjustments that will work for everyone.

Think about what makes things easier for you. It might mean asking for the lights to be dimmed, finding somewhere quieter to wait, wearing headphones or asking staff to explain what they are going to do before they touch you.

These can seem like very small changes, but they can make a huge difference to how safe and manageable care feels.

Pregnancy involves a surprising amount of information and decision-making, and healthcare conversations can move quickly.

You might be given lots of information and then immediately be asked what you want to do. If you need time to process what you have heard, it is absolutely OK to say so.

You can ask someone to slow down, explain something differently or give you information in writing. You can also simply say, “I need some time to think about that.”

Needing longer to process information is not the same as not understanding it. Sometimes you just need the information delivered in a way that works better for you.

There is no single way that a neurodivergent person responds to pain, anxiety or overwhelm.

Some people may become visibly distressed, but others might become very quiet, go still, struggle to speak, make jokes, mask their distress or appear remarkably calm while internally everything feels far too much.

This can be particularly important during labour or when something unexpected happens.

If you already know how you tend to respond when you become overwhelmed, tell your maternity team. A partner, friend or other trusted person can also be really valuable, particularly if they recognise the subtle signs that you are struggling or know how your communication changes when you are overwhelmed.

They shouldn’t speak over you or replace your voice, but with your consent they can help make sure that voice is heard.

We often think about birth plans in terms of where we would like to give birth, what pain relief we might want or how we hope labour will go.

For neurodivergent parents, I think it can be useful to think about an access plan too.

Consider how you prefer people to communicate with you, whether you have particular sensory triggers, how you feel about touch or needles, what happens when you become overwhelmed and what helps you to regulate. You might need more processing time when making decisions, or there may be particular things that help you feel safe and in control.

Writing these things down before labour means you don’t have to explain everything from scratch at a time when you may already be tired, in pain or overwhelmed.

Making maternity care more accessible doesn’t always require huge changes.

Sometimes it is a quieter place to wait, clearer instructions, knowing what is going to happen next, having information written down, being given extra processing time or being warned before somebody touches you.

If your neurodivergence meets the legal definition of disability, you may also have a legal right to reasonable adjustments. However, accessibility shouldn’t depend entirely on whether you know the right language to use or feel confident enough to advocate for yourself.

You shouldn’t have to become an expert in self-advocacy just to access maternity care.

Healthcare professionals have a role in asking what would help too.

Your brain isn’t an inconvenience

Neurodivergence doesn’t disappear when you become pregnant. The things that help you navigate everyday life don’t suddenly stop mattering when you walk into a maternity unit.

If something would make your care easier to access, talk to your maternity team about it. If you know what helps when you become overwhelmed, write it down and share it with the people who will be supporting you.

Most importantly, remember that you shouldn’t have to fit your brain around maternity care. The care can adapt too.

Laura Spence is a midwife with ADHD and the founder of NeuroNatal Academy, where she works to improve maternity care for neurodivergent people.

Laura will be speaking at The Baby Show at Olympia London on Friday 23 October about neurodivergence and pregnancy. If you’d like to hear more, come along to Laura's talk, and please come and say hello afterwards.