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

[Eileen Levin]

Like JoElizabeth  my sighted husband was there and we received no visit from
a social worker at all. I hadn't taken any classes, asked to leave the day
after my son was born, and the staff all seemed to be directing their
lessons to my extremely anxious sighted husband. The staff's tendancy to
ignore me while teaching my husband never meant anything to me since I
already knew how to change a diaper and bathe a baby from helping my mother
with my two younger sisters. I think there was a note posted on my door from
the staff about my blindness which my husband questioned as soon as he saw
it. 

So, is there discrimination? From all this anecdotal evidence it appears the
answer is YES YES and YES.
Eileen
-----Original Message-----
From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Jo Elizabeth Pinto
Sent: Saturday, June 06, 2009 12:56 PM
To: NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List
Subject: Re: [blparent] [Bulk] "General public" and their impressions

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
> 


_______________________________________________
blparent mailing list
blparent at nfbnet.org
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blparent_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
blparent:
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blparent_nfbnet.org/eileenlevin%40comc
ast.net
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com 
Version: 8.5.339 / Virus Database: 270.12.54/2158 - Release Date: 06/06/09
05:53:00