Parents with Intellectual Disability in Germany: Results of a Nation‐wide Study

A nation‐wide questionnaire survey conducted in Germany found 969 persons with intellectual disabilities who had become parents of 1366 children. Thirty examples of parenthood were investigated further by interviewing mothers, fathers or adult children and staff members or assisting relatives. High levels of psychosocial stress were often found. Unhelpful reactions to the pregnancies of mothers with intellectual disabilities were more the rule than the exception. Nevertheless, mothers and fathers with intellectual disabilities often looked forward to having a baby, seemed to be proud of their children and reported having good emotional relationships with them, even when the children did not live with them. Institutional support services, if any, were not always judged to be helpful.