[blparent] Challenges with hospital

Thu May 27 16:36:38 UTC 2010

Accepting help is a perfectly fine thing to do.  Being a good mom doesn't 
mean you have to be a superhero all the time.  Don't feel bad at all of 
taking people up on their offers of assistance.

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Leslie Hamric" <lhamric930 at comcast.net>
Sent: Thursday, May 27, 2010 8:40 AM
To: "'NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List'" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [blparent] Challenges with hospital

> I thought I was going to politely refuse the home healthcare agency that 
> was
> recommended to me by the hospital but when I found out how much work it 
> was
> between pumping, taking care of a baby, and feeling absolutely exhausted,
> not to mention recovering from my C-Section, I realized that the home 
> health
> care agency was just what I needed.  It's a matter of personal preference.
> Leslie
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Veronica Smith
> Sent: Wednesday, May 26, 2010 11:29 PM
> To: 'NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List'
> Subject: Re: [blparent] Challenges with hospital
>
> Our insurance offered someone to come help at home which I politely 
> refused.
> I said we had plenty of help there and that was the end of that. V
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Jo Elizabeth Pinto
> Sent: Wednesday, May 26, 2010 1:59 PM
> To: NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [blparent] Challenges with hospital
>
> I agree.  I know nothing of the history of this family, but I can't 
> suggest
> strongly enough that a blind mom or couple should check out the hospital
> where the birth will take place well beforehand.  I went in with a bunch 
> of
> questions, basically to find out if the nurses, doctors, social workers, 
> or
> anybody else would have a problem with a blind mother taking a baby home
> after delivery.  The supervisor of the prenatal clinic sent out an e-mail 
> to
>
> all of the involved staff, stating when I would be expected in, and 
> putting
> the position of the hospital in writing, that there was officially no
> problem with my situation.  One of the doctors did ask if I would have 
> help
> at home, but I assumed he probably asked that of most or all of the women 
> he
>
> attended because it really is important to get a support system in place 
> for
>
> any new mom.  So I said yes, I would have help, which I did have, though 
> not
>
> 24/7, and that was the end of the discussion.  I can't stress enough that
> conditions vary from hospital to hospital, and if you don't like the 
> answers
>
> you get when checking a place out, move on and find somewhere you can be
> comfortable.
>
> Jo Elizabeth
> --------------------------------------------------
> From: "Karla Hudson" <HudsonKC at msu.edu>
> Sent: Wednesday, May 26, 2010 1:23 PM
> To: <blparent at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: [blparent] Challenges with hospital
>
>> Hi Group,
>>
>> I have been watching the posts regarding the family who may have taken
>> their
>> baby away by CPS. I have mentioned this before on this list. When I had 
>> my
>> first child I had an interesting experience with hospital nurse with 28
>> year
>> of experience. The hospital Social Worker also offered us WIC when we 
>> were
>> totally not qualified. I believe these individuals have an interest in
>> protecting the child. I am thinking they just do not know exactly what to
>> protect them from when it comes to blind people. They make all kinds of
>> assumptions as they are unable to believe that they themselves could care
>> for a child without sight.
>>
>> Also, I think as persons who are blind we need to become better at lying.
>> When asked if I would have sighted help at home with my baby I lied and
>> indicated that I would have such help. The joke was on them as the friend
>> who came to help me was also blind and happened to be on staff at the
>> hospital. Anyway, after all the annoying challenges the hospital put my
>> way
>> I finally wrote a letter to the CEO a few months after my daughter was
>> born.
>> Well, the Social worker had to contact me and apologized. Did I let her
>> off
>> the hook? No, she received a lecture from me regarding the importance of
>> reviewing the file before making assumptions. She would have seen there
>> that
>> we did not qualify for WIC and that our OBGYN wrote a note indicating 
>> that
>> we were extremely independent and prepared to have our child.
>>
>> So this can happen to the best and most independent of blind individuals.
>>
>> Karla
>>
>>
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