‘They Forget I’m Deaf’: Exploring the Experience and Perception of Deaf Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Clinics/Care

Abstract

Background: Antenatal care (ANC) services provide access to integrated health management for several pregnancy related conditions. Unfortunately, deaf pregnant women remain vulnerable during pregnancy due to lack of access as well as communication barriers at antenatal clinics in Nigeria. Objective: The primary aim of this study was to explore the experiences and satisfaction of pregnant deaf women with antenatal care in Nigeria. Methods: This was a qualitative study, conducted among nine deaf pregnant women from two local government areas, attending both private and public health facilities for antenatal care in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Data were collected using semi-structured, video recorded one-on-one interviews, with sign language as the medium of communication. The interviews were conducted until saturation of the themes was reached. The recorded interviews were precisely transcribed and thematic analyses were conducted on the data obtained. Findings: The mean age of the participants was 29.5 years. Participants indicated that they had registered/booked for antenatal care in their second trimester. Registration at this stage was regarded as late registration of the pregnancies. Communication difficulties during their ANC (antenatal care) visits, distance and location of the clinics, knowledge and perception of what ANC entailed, finance/cost, and health care professionals’ attitudes towards the participants were the major themes identified for late ANC bookings. Participants who attended privately owned health care facilities for ANC had more satisfaction with ANC care than those attending publicly owned health facilities. Conclusions: Deaf pregnant women were knowledgeable about ANC but registered late for the service, largely due to communication difficulties, distance to the clinic, cost, and the perceived attitudes of the health care workers. There existed a variance in the level of satisfaction of deaf pregnant women who attended private or public health facilities.

Including the Excluded in Antenatal Care: A Systematic Review of Concerns for D/deaf Pregnant Women

“…As shown in Table 1 , out of the three studies available that assessed issues of antenatal care among D/deaf pregnant women in the United States of America, two studies [ 31 , 32 ] used a retrospective cohort study approach, while the other [ 33 ] employed a quantitative research approach for data collection. The three other studies included and shown in Table 1 employed a mixed method research approach [ 34 ], a qualitative research approach [ 20 ], and a case report [ 35 ], respectively.…”

“…Mitra et al [ 31 ] included 1385 in their study, while a total of 645 D/deaf women were included in the article by Schiff, Doody, Crane, and Mueller [ 32 ]. Forty-two D/deaf pregnant women participated in the study by [ 34 ], while only nine D/deaf pregnant women were interviewed in the study by Adigun and Mngomezulu [ 20 ]. While Mustafa and Addar [ 35 ] reported on the case of a D/deaf pregnant woman in Saudi Arabia, O’Hearn [ 33 ] did a comparative study among 23 D/deaf pregnant women and 32 hearing pregnant women who were attending antenatal clinics in the USA.…”

“…Although the findings of Gichane, Heap, Fontes, and London [ 34 ] among 42 D/deaf pregnant women in the US were similar to what was observed by O’Hearn [ 33 ], Gichane, Heap, Fontes, and London [ 34 ] reported that there were limited sign language interpretation services at the hospitals visited by the study participants. More recent studies by Adigun and Mngomezulu [ 20 ] from Nigeria and Mitra et al [ 31 ] from the United States of America expressed the communication difficulties experienced by D/deaf pregnant women who were attending antenatal clinics. According to the study by Adigun and Mngomezulu [ 20 ], communication challenges were one of the major determinants of the use of antenatal services by D/deaf women.…”

“…More recent studies by Adigun and Mngomezulu [ 20 ] from Nigeria and Mitra et al [ 31 ] from the United States of America expressed the communication difficulties experienced by D/deaf pregnant women who were attending antenatal clinics. According to the study by Adigun and Mngomezulu [ 20 ], communication challenges were one of the major determinants of the use of antenatal services by D/deaf women.…”

“…Although health care policies have provided templates for the care of pregnant women and mandated health care workers to attend to the health needs of women attending the antenatal care/clinics, unfortunately, their practice and impact on deaf pregnant women are presently unclear. As indicated by Adigun and Mngomezulu [ 20 ], antenatal care is the medical care and support provided to pregnant women throughout pregnancy to promote the health of the mother and the babies.…”