Dataset Information

"They must understand we are people": Pregnancy and maternity service use among signing Deaf women in Cape Town.

ABSTRACT: Women with disabilities are at disproportionate risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes, however, there is limited information on their pregnancy histories. This mixed-methods study focuses on signing Deaf women whose access to health care may be compromised by language barriers related to their disability.To describe and compare the pregnancy outcomes and maternity service use of a sample of signing Deaf women of child-bearing age in Cape Town to the population of the Western Cape of South Africa.We interviewed 42 Deaf women selected by non-probability snowball sampling, using a structured questionnaire in South African Sign Language in Cape Town in July 2016.Average parity of the sample was similar to that of the Western Cape population. Most women had one or two children (74%). Thirty-one percent of women had experienced a miscarriage and 19% had terminated a pregnancy. Almost all women (96%) attended at least one antenatal appointment during their pregnancies, and all deliveries occurred at a health facility. Women primarily relied on writing to communicate during antenatal visits and labor/delivery. The majority of women reported communication issues due to limited interpretation services, and some reported experiencing mistreatment from hospital staff.This study provides novel information on the pregnancy histories of Deaf women. While maternal service usage was high, the quality of services were inadequate with reports of linguistic barriers and mistreatment. Findings suggest the need to improve maternity care for Deaf women through implementing interpretation services and providing sensitivity training to health care providers.

SUBMITTER: Gichane MW

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5484522 | biostudies-other | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

ACCESS DATA

Publications

"They must understand we are people": Pregnancy and maternity service use among signing Deaf women in Cape Town.

Gichane Margaret W MW Heap Marion M Fontes Mayara M London Leslie L

Disability and health journal 20170406 3

<h4>Background</h4>Women with disabilities are at disproportionate risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes, however, there is limited information on their pregnancy histories. This mixed-methods study focuses on signing Deaf women whose access to health care may be compromised by language barriers related to their disability.<h4>Objective</h4>To describe and compare the pregnancy outcomes and maternity service use of a sample of signing Deaf women of child-bearing age in Cape Town to the population ...[more]

PMID: 28416204

Similar Datasets

Project description:OBJECTIVES:Prevention of unplanned pregnancy is a crucial aspect of preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission. There are few data investigating how HIV status and use of antiretroviral therapy (ART) may influence pregnancy planning in high HIV burden settings. Our objective was to examine the prevalence and determinants of unplanned pregnancy among HIV-positive and HIV-negative women in Cape Town, South Africa. DESIGN:Cross-sectional analysis. SETTINGS:Single primary-level antenatal care clinic in Cape Town, South Africa. PARTICIPANTS:HIV-positive and HIV-negative pregnant women, booking for antenatal care from March 2013 to August 2015, were included. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:Unplanned pregnancy was measured at the first antenatal care visit using the London Measure of Unplanned Pregnancy (LMUP). Analyses examined LMUP scores across four groups of participants defined by their HIV status, awareness of their HIV status prior to the current pregnancy and/or whether they were using antiretroviral therapy (ART) prior to the current pregnancy. RESULTS:Among 2105 pregnant women (1512 HIV positive; 593 HIV negative), median age was 28 years, 43% were married/cohabiting and 20% were nulliparous. Levels of unplanned pregnancy were significantly higher in HIV-positive versus HIV-negative women (50% vs 33%, p<0.001); and highest in women who were known HIV positive but not on ART (53%). After adjusting for age, parity and marital status, unplanned pregnancy was most common among women newly diagnosed and women who were known HIV positive but not on ART (compared with HIV-negative women, adjusted OR (aOR): 1.43; 95% CI 1.05 to 1.94 and aOR: 1.57; 95%?CI 1.13 to 2.15, respectively). Increased parity and younger age (<24 years) were also associated with unplanned pregnancy (aOR: 1.42; 95%?CI 1.25 to 1.60 and aOR: 1.83; 95%?CI 1.23 to 2.74, respectively). CONCLUSIONS:We observed high levels of unplanned pregnancy among HIV-positive women, particularly among those not on ART, suggesting ongoing missed opportunities for improved family planning and counselling services for HIV-positive women.

Dataset Information

"They must understand we are people": Pregnancy and maternity service use among signing Deaf women in Cape Town.

Publications

"They must understand we are people": Pregnancy and maternity service use among signing Deaf women in Cape Town.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets