[blparent] [Bulk] "General public" and their impressions

[Jo Elizabeth Pinto]

I was lucky enough not to get much interference from social workers when 
Sarah was born.  I don't know if it was because her sighted father was there 
most of the time or what.  There was a doctor who asked if I would have help 
at home.  I said yes, and he didn't ask any more questions.  (Personally, I 
think whether there will be help is a valid question for any new mom, 
sighted or blind, especially now that I've been through the newborn phase 
myself.)  Nobody asked me if I had everything ready for the baby, which I 
did, and the nurses spent a lot of time trying to help me get nursing 
established, with no comment about my blindness.  The only social worker I 
saw asked me about financial issues, but Gerald and I made too much to 
qualify for the hospital's sliding scale.  It was nice to have such a 
positive experience at the hospital.  I think part of the reason everything 
went so well is that I took not only the childbirth classes, but also the 
baby care and breastfeeding courses, and I had a tour of the maternity ward 
and asked a lot of questions, so by the time I delivered my baby, I was kind 
of a familiar face to many of the staff, and they knew I was taking my new 
role as a mother seriously.

Jo Elizabeth

"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed 
until it is faced."--James Baldwin
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Melissa Ann Riccobono" <melissa at riccobono.us>
To: "'NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List'" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, June 06, 2009 6:47 AM
Subject: Re: [blparent] [Bulk] "General public" and their impressions


> It's interesting about hospital social workers.  I actually was lucky 
> enough
> to have a good experience with the social worker who visited me after 
> Austin
> was born.  She seemed to stick to standard questions.  She did ask if I 
> had
> everything ready for the baby; actually she didn't quite put it that way.
> She asked if we had a crib or a bassinette, a car seat, etc.  I could hear
> that she was taking notes and checking things off a list.  The hospital
> where Austin was born often deals with high risk and very poor moms and
> dads, so I felt a lot of the questions were based on the fact that so many
> people who pass through really do need a lot more help and services.  I 
> was
> also offered WIC.  I don't know if this was standard or not, but I just 
> said
> I knew we made too much to qualify and I was left alone.  The person who
> made me the most nervous was a doctor--not the one who delivered 
> Austin--who
> kept asking if I had help at home, and if I thought I could manage because
> of my "handicap."  Luckily, even though I was still in labor and not in 
> the
> best mood, I managed to answer him calmly and firmly and nothing else was
> said.  Then there was this extremely annoying nurse who was completely
> thrilled because I could find the toilet paper in the bathroom and I
> "navigated so well!"  She questioned my ability to nurse because it's "a
> very visual thing to know when the baby's mouth is open so you can stick 
> the
> nipple in.  Are you really committed to nursing?"  Thank goodness I knew 
> my
> sister, who is also blind, nursed three babies successfully, and that I 
> was
> committed to nursing unless there really was a reason I couldn't--such as 
> my
> body not making enough milk, or Austin really having difficulties of some
> other kind.  So, I was firm on that point as well.  It is amazing though
> simply how uneducated the public is!  I love the people who ask me if I 
> had
> someone come in to "adapt" my house for the baby.  Yes, there are child
> proofing companies and they are great if you want to use them, but I think
> it's crazy for people to believe that just because we're blind we don't 
> know
> what is dangerous for a baby or small child.
> Melissa
>