Wendy Porch, who was born missing part of her right arm and part of her left hand, is pictured with her son Jasper when he was four months old in this handout image. Porch was on the advisory committee for a new report that says one in eight people who are pregnant in Ontario has a disability, but many face barriers to accessible care. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Wendy Porch
" emergency department visits in pregnancy usually tell us is that there's some sort of gap, you know, that could have potentially been addressed with a person's primary-care or obstetrician," Brown said. Some participants reported a lack of accessibility in doctors' offices for people with mobility issues, as well as a lack of sign language interpretation during critical times such as labour and delivery.
It also calls for more flexibility in Ontario's fee-for-service payment model for doctors, where they are only paid for a certain amount of time spent in appointments with pregnant patients.