Friday, May 14, 2021, at 3:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Register for this free event online

The reproductive and sexual health of women living with paralysis is often overlooked by society, medical professionals and women themselves. Accessing reproductive healthcare presents many challenges for women living with paralysis. They must overcome physical barriers and the attitudinal and educational barriers presented by OB/GYN practitioners. “Empowering Women Living with Paralysis: Breaking Barriers to Reproductive Health” will explore these barriers and how women living with paralysis can empower themselves to access the care they need and deserve.

Presenters Cody Unser and Dani Izzie will discuss the various barriers to routine OB/GYN care and prenatal care, provide strategies for overcoming them, and share their personal experiences as women living with paralysis in addressing challenges they have faced in obtaining reproductive healthcare. Specific topics will include the meaning of empowerment for women living with paralysis and how to practice it in health management; the medical and psychosocial consequences of OB/GYN care barriers; finding the right prenatal care practitioner; and patient rights and self-advocacy.

Cody Unser is a leading advocate for people living with disabilities. Unser founded The Cody Unser First Step Foundation (CUFSF) after becoming paralyzed at 12 years old in 1999 due to the autoimmune disorder transverse myelitis. She is passionate about the healthcare of women with disabilities and presents on this issue at grand rounds in medical facilities across the country.

Daniela Izzie is a disability advocate and wheelchair user. Dani is also one of only a handful of quadriplegics known to have given birth to twins. Her newest passion is elevating the voices of parents living with disabilities. She is the subject of a new documentary film, “Dani’s Twins,” about pregnancy and motherhood with quadriplegia during the pandemic.

The webinar will be held from 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM Eastern Time. Registration to attend the free presentation is now open.

Make sure to join us on Thursday, May 13, at 3:00 PM Eastern Time for our second webinar during Women's Health Week on Women and Aging .