Inequalities AND unreasonable adjustments: are D/deaf women being given a detrimental care pathway in the name of risk assessment?

Summary

In this article, published in The Practising Midwife, Rachel Crowe argues that in the UK, pregnant women who are hearing impaired or D/deaf (sign language users) and deaf (who are hard of hearing but who have English as their first language and may lipread and/or use hearing aids) are often labelled as high risk and offered a care pathway that is unsuitable and detrimental to their care.

Identifying the gaps in maternity that exist in current guidelines and practice can help midwives to ensure women get appropriate, high-quality woman-centred care.

This article provides an overview to the needs of D/deaf birthing people with a number of recommendations and tools for use in clinical practice.