Contents
The needs of people with vision problems are special. Everything that life brings, they feel differently; they also have specific problems resulting from their disability. The idea, which we managed to implement thanks to winning the “Grant for health” competition, was born in our heads much earlier, when we had the opportunity to listen to the confessions of our pupils.
Long autumn evenings
At the end of 2017, we conducted a training camp for blind parents. After the classes, we still had a lot of time for less formal talks. During these autumn evenings we learned how many obstacles and problems there are for parents with diseases and visual impairments. Our students talked about the barriers that appear at every step of creating a family – from the very decision to have a child, then its conception, preparation of the future mother for childbirth, care and care for a newborn, and then in raising a child in preschool and school age.
They also shared with us their problems with adolescent children, both psychological and social problems, directly or indirectly resulting from their disability. This made us realize that non-disabled people do not realize how difficult it is to raise a child with limited vision.
A new chance
Inspired by the collected information and seeing how great is the need for help and support for parents with eyesight problems, we decided to publish a guide called “To be a mom, to be a dad – a guide for blind parents”. However, even then we realized that this was just the beginning, and the release should have a much broader and deeper continuation. Fortunately, it coincided with the announcement of the “Grant for health” competition, and we had a chance to create a much more complete, multi-faceted guide for women with visual impairments and diseases who want to become mothers.
Constructive storm and unconventional approach
Before we filled out the application form, we called a meeting of people working at the Institute, including young visually impaired and blind women who would like to stay or are already mothers. To the previously collected experiences of blind parents, we added new ideas born during our brainstorming. In addition, we collected information directly from young people – as part of educational lessons, we conducted talks in centers for blind and partially sighted children and adolescents on what topics and problems should be addressed in our guide. And this is how the thematic scope of the guide for mums with visual impairments was created.
360⁰ issues
Thanks to the help and substantive cooperation with wonderful, wise and very competent people, we have created a guide covering a wide range of topics.
There are materials of a specialist – nurse, midwife and pedagogue, Dr. Barbara Mazurkiewicz, MD, PhD, discussing the aspects of obstetrics. Dr Anna Dąbrowska-Jakubiak, medical doctor; a specialist in gynecology and obstetrics as well as endocrinology speaks about the preparation for procreation. Vision problems often result from genetic diseases or congenital defects, which is why the guide also includes material on genetic and ophthalmic aspects prepared by Dr. Anna Skorczyk-Werner, molecular biologist and prof. dr hab. Maciej Krawczyński, MD, an ophthalmologist and geneticist.
Sandra Tworkowska, a psychologist, talks about how to overcome difficulties and barriers related to fears of a threat to the health and eyesight of the mother, which may be caused by pregnancy. Physiotherapist, Malwina Kuty, presents exercises for pregnant women that allow you to go through this period without any obstacles and easier to give birth, but also those that are safe for women with eyesight problems.
We have enriched our knowledge about health and medical aspects with an article on the legal perspective of parenthood of people with disabilities. This chapter was prepared by a lawyer, Krzysztof Wiśniewski, who himself has problems with his eyesight and hearing. about what cash benefits or other help these parents can take advantage of.
The guide also includes purely practical materials prepared by Monika Zarczuk-Engelsm, a blind mother of two children, a Polish philologist. We called this chapter “Ergonomics at home”, ie what to equip and how to prepare the apartment for the arrival of a child, how to organize home rules so that future parents who have vision problems would be easier, and also what to take to the hospital during childbirth. The series ends with an article by Małgorzata Pacholec, a blind mother and grandmother, who talked about her life experiences and shared practical tips for young mothers.
Co dalej?
We currently have 500 copies of the Guide in enlarged print and its electronic version, and we deal with distribution and promotion. Information about the guide will be published in all our publications, i.e. on social networking sites and channels, on the website, in the newsletter, magazines for adults and adolescents; the accesses will also be sent to voivodeship and poviat institutions as well as rehabilitation units of the Polish Association of the Blind.
We also want to distribute information more widely – to medical facilities, maternity departments or foundations, such as Happy Motherhood, in order not only to reach units gathering people with eyesight problems, but also to institutions where all women starting a family go.
It will be the bigger thing
The project of creating a multifaceted guide for mothers with visual impairments made us aware of the number of problems, questions and needs of blind women planning to start a family or already pregnant. We see the legitimacy of extending this project and creating special classes in birthing schools, e.g. conducting appropriate exercises for women with visual impairments or tactile workshops on baby care. It would also be good for the staff in childbirth schools to be prepared for the possible appearance of a future mother with a visual impairment and to know what to look for and how to help these women.
We are glad that thanks to the win in the “Grant for Health” Competition, we managed to create such a valuable material that is a real help for future mothers. Our guide helps them to fulfill their dreams of starting a happy family. Thank you on behalf of our pupils and all future mothers with visual impairments or diseases who, thanks to the guide, will not give up their plans. What we wish them and all of us.