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Facing Uncertainty, Proceeding With Caution, Living With Joy: Women With Multiple Sclerosis And The Motherhood Decision, Anne L. Van Acker

MALS Final Projects, 1995-2019

Multiple sclerosis is a degenerative neurological disorder, affecting approximately 250,000-350,000 persons in the United States. Women are diagnosed twice as frequently as men, with the majority of those diagnoses occurring during their childbearing (typically between the ages of 20 and 40) years. For women with multiple sclerosis, the decision to bear children is complicated by numerous factors. First, conventional cultural images of motherhood rarely acknowledge women with disability of any kind as "fit" mothers. For a disabled woman to pursue motherhood often means confronting predominant ideals and frequently having to justify her decision. Second, multiple sclerosis has proven to be …