Supporting today, preparing tomorrow's parents Understanding and improving early support for expectant parents with intellectual disabilities

Like all parents, parents with intellectual disabilities generally aim to offer their children a safe, loving, and healthy start in life. However, a combination of risk factors may challenge this goal for some families. Pregnancy is a critical window for identifying these risks and providing preventive support. To balance the parenting rights of parents with intellectual disabilities with child safety and protection, in-depth insight is needed into risk factors during pregnancy, existing voluntary and compulsory interventions, and the effectiveness of preventive interventions. This thesis examined these three issues in six studies. The findings lead to three key insights. First, child safety outcomes are not primarily explained by intellectual disability itself, but by the accumulation of risk factors associated with it. Second, preventive and timely support is crucial because risks may already emerge during pregnancy. Third, parents with intellectual disabilities, even when facing multiple and complex problems, can be effectively supported in providing “good-enough” parenting when they receive appropriate and sustainable support. Taken together, the studies suggest that voluntary, tailored interventions can contribute to reducing cumulative risks and decreasing out-of-home placements, enabling parents with intellectual disabilities and multiple problems to care for their children at home more often with appropriate support.