Understanding maternity care provision and experience for autistic women and birthing people and their care providers in the UK: protocol for a scoping review.

Abstract

Maternity care in the UK is under increasing scrutiny, with reports indicating that services often fail to meet the diverse needs of women and birthing people. Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental condition involving persistent difficulties in social communication and interaction alongside restricted and repetitive behaviours. Autistic women and birthing people may face distinct barriers to accessing and navigating maternity care, compounded by limited awareness and inflexible service provision. To improve care responsiveness, it is essential to understand both the challenges faced by autistic women and birthing people and those encountered by healthcare professionals in delivering optimal care. This scoping review aims to identify and map existing literature and evidence on maternity care in the UK for autistic women and birthing people. A comprehensive search, restricted to January 2000 to July 2026, will be conducted across multiple databases, including the Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase and the Overton Index. Reference lists of included studies will be screened to identify additional relevant literature. Extracted data will include study context, research focus and key findings. The literature will be mapped across several domains: experiences of care among autistic women and birthing people; maternity care providers' knowledge of autism and ability to provide optimal care for autistic women and birthing people; interventions designed to support this population and relevant government policies influencing practice. As this review involves secondary analysis of published literature, ethical approval is not required. Findings will be presented using tabular and diagrammatic formats, supported by narrative synthesis. Results will be disseminated through publication in a peer-reviewed journal and via relevant professional networks and charity partners, and may inform future research, policy and practice in maternity care.