ASIAN DEAF AUTHOR TO REDUCE TRAUMATIC PREGNANCIES
(4th May 2004)

Sabina Iqbal, an Asian Deaf British Sign Language (BSL) user from Hertfordshire, has written the first guide for pregnant deaf women who use BSL, rather than English. It will be published by RNID, the largest charity representing the nine million deaf and hard of hearing people in the UK, in association with the National Childbirth Trust (NCT). ' Pregnancy and birth - a guide for deaf women' will also be of interest to maternity professionals, and aims to ensure that pregnancy and birth are easier for thousands of deaf women throughout the UK.

The guide will provide much vital information that deaf women currently miss out on. Sabina Iqbal was approached to write the guide following her involvement with the Deaf Parenting Project that she founded in 2001. For more than 50,000 people in the UK, BSL, not English, is their first language. And since March 2003 it has been an officially recognized language. However, resources for pregnant women are often only available in jargon-filled English, which can be difficult for BSL users to understand. This obstacle, combined with the widespread lack of deaf awareness in the NHS, as outlined by RNID’s 'A Simple Cure' report published May 2004, can render the already-stressful experiences of pregnancy and childbirth doubly traumatic for deaf mothers.

'Pregnancy and birth - a guide for deaf women' contains vital advice and information that all pregnant women need - from planning a family and receiving the appropriate antenatal care, right through to the birth itself and coping with a new-born baby. For health professionals Pregnancy and birth highlights some of the traumatic experiences deaf women have faced and provides guidance on good practice. Sabina says: “I was inspired to write the book after carrying out research into deaf parenting in the USA, which highlighted the difficulties many American deaf parents have when accessing information and services about pregnancy, health, and their children’s education. I was horrified to find that access for deaf women was poor, with provision equally lacking here in the UK, and wanted to do something about it.”

Dr John Low, Chief Executive for RNID said: “RNID has published this book to give deaf women useful, accessible information, and help maternity professionals provide appropriate support. We want to ensure that pregnancy and childbirth are the positive experiences they should be for all deaf mothers.”

Belinda Phipps, Chief Executive of the National Childbirth Trust added: "Becoming a parent is a new and exciting experience, but can be challenging at the best of times. The National Childbirth Trust wants to help all women to have a positive experience of pregnancy, childbirth and the early days, so we are delighted to be working with RNID to extend our information and support networks to even more parents to be."

Pregnancy and Birth - a guide for deaf mothers by Sabina Iqbal is priced £14.99, ISBN: 1-904296-03-3 and is available through www.rnidshop.com.

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