ArticleBMJ open2026
Understanding maternity care provision and experience for autistic women and birthing people and their care providers in the UK: protocol for a scoping review.
Article in BMJ open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionMaternity 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.
methodsA 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. ANALYSIS: 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. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: 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.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.