[blparent] Anxious

[Grace Pires]

Hi Stacey:

My husband and I are both blind and we did not experience difficulties at
the hospital. They asked questions and I answered as best as I could.  I had
this list for support and questions which helped a great deal.  My son was
in the nicu due to prematurity and the doctor told us that he'd never had a
blind couple before.  His questions were in part so that he have a better
understanding how we'd take care of the baby. The social worker did ask me
how I'd know when it was time to feed the baby.  It's silly question, but I
just answered it. I also took a parenting class through Hadley. 

I was anxious about the hospital stay as well.  But in retrospect it was
not so bad.  I think it would have been good to interview pediatricians as
Dena stated as well as meet the hospital staff prior to the birth.  I was
considering it and then he was here.   

I have to say the staff at the nicu were great.  Perhaps they may have
watched me doing things, but they didn't hover.  They only assisted when I
asked.
My advice is to prepare as much as you can and answer questions with
confidence.  Sometimes the questions  may seem rather silly but I suppose
that people just don't know.
By the way, I also lurked on the list for some time before becoming
pregnant. I found it a good source of information. 
Good luck.  

-----Original Message-----  
From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Cervenka, Stacy (Brownback)
Sent: Friday, May 28, 2010 12:12 PM
To: 'blparent at nfbnet.org'
Subject: [blparent] Anxious

Hi, everyone,
	I'm fairly new to this listserv. I'm not currently a blind parent,
but my boyfriend and I are both blind and we're beginning to move toward
marriage and a family, so I've been lurking on this list, hoping to learn a
little about what Greg and I will be in for in the future as blind parents.
	Anyway, I've been reading the posts the last few days about all the
issues blind couples run into when giving birth, especially when both
parents are blind, and honestly, it's got me really discouraged and anxious.
Does every blind couple run into these sorts of problems at the hospital? Is
there anything we can do to be proactive and prevent this sort of thing from
happening to us? Is it better to give birth at home with a midwife or in a
birthing center, where you can get to know the staff beforehand? I know that
having kids is a few years away for me, but this has me worried sick. My
number one goal in life has always been to be a mom and I can't imagine
having the state stand in my way.
	FYI, I've emailed info about this couple's case to Gary Wunder and a
few others, so hopefully somebody will be in contact with the couple soon,
if they haven't been already.

Stacy Leigh Cervenka
Legislative Assistant
Office of Senator Sam Brownback (KS)
303 Hart Senate Office Building
Phone: (202) 224-6521
Email: stacy_cervenka at brownback.senate.gov 
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