Deaf Birth Services

09/26/2025

How funny! Letting mom birth the way she wants to birth! 😜

63 likes, 5 comments. “Birth positions aren’t one-size-fits-all 👶🏽✨ Some moms have their favorites, some providers have theirs - flexibility is what makes it work. 🤝 Leave your favorite birth positions at the bottom ⬇️”

09/26/2025

True or False?
Providing VRI interpreting services for labor and delivery instead of onsite interpreters—without the patient’s consent—can be a violation of the ADA.

👉 Answer: TRUE.

What this means:
• Hospitals must ensure effective communication under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
• VRI may be offered, but only if the patient agrees and the technology is effective.
• Patients always have the right to request onsite interpreters, especially for labor, birth, and emergencies.

What this does not mean:
• Hospitals cannot force VRI on a patient just because it’s cheaper or more convenient.
• If VRI freezes, lags, or fails, the hospital must switch to onsite interpreting.
• “Any access” is not enough—it must be effective and meet patient needs.

✨ Bottom line: Consent + effectiveness matter. Denying onsite interpreters in labor without the patient’s agreement can violate federal law.

09/25/2025

Before I ever caught a baby, I caught isolation.
I caught the silence in training rooms with no interpreters.
I caught the frustration of watching people talk around me, not to me.
I caught the ache of being on the other side of birth work — a Deaf client navigating care without true access.
I caught myself wondering if the midwifery world would ever see me as enough.
Now I’m on the other side of the birth space.
Now I catch babies.
Now I catch the shift — building a path where Deaf clients are seen, heard, and understood from the start.
Now I catch fire — because every birth space deserves accessibility woven into its foundation, not added as an afterthought.
I’m here to make sure no one has to birth through the silence I once knew.

09/24/2025

💉✨ Let’s talk about Vitamin K for newborns!

What do you know about it?
If you chose (or plan to choose) Vitamin K for your baby, what influenced your decision? If you opted out, what guided that choice?

And—have you heard about the newer versions with fewer additives like this one? Thoughts?

I’d love to hear your experiences and perspectives—share below ⬇️

09/24/2025

💛 Want to support Deaf-accessible women’s health care, prenatal care, safe and supported birth, and postpartum recovery?

I’m a Deaf student/apprentice midwife working toward licensure. Every follow, like, and share helps bring visibility to this work and moves us closer to truly accessible midwifery care.

📲 Instagram | 👍 Facebook | 🔗 LinkedIn →
=



Image description: A light beige background with teal and brown text. The top says “Support Deaf-Accessible Care: Women’s Health | Prenatal | Birth | Postpartum.” In the middle, large script font says “Follow Like Share” with a small heart. At the bottom is the Deaf Birth Services logo with the text “Instagram Facebook LinkedIn ” and the hashtags = .

09/23/2025

Ready for fall y’all!?! 😜

09/23/2025

When a baby is born, I don’t listen for cries.
I feel the shift in the room.
I watch their hands, chest, and eyes.
I see the inhale before the parents speak.
I’m not missing anything.
I just witness birth… differently.

09/22/2025

Labor story

09/22/2025

This is so exciting!

Happy National Deaf and Hard of Hearing Breastfeeding week! We will kick things off starting tomorrow September 16-22, 2025!!

The 2025 theme is Close the Gap, Bridge the Divide:
Establish Breastfeeding Support Access.
The mission of this initiative is to Provide Deaf and Hard of Hearing families with accessible breastfeeding education, support, and community, because language and breastfeeding access matters from birth.

We couldn’t have done this without the support and collaboration of The DC Breastfeeding Coalition DC Breastfeeding Coalition, along with The Anthropology of Motherhood The Anthropology of Motherhood and The United States Breastfeeding Committee U.S. Breastfeeding Committee - USBC. We are forever grateful to them.

09/22/2025

Dropped a little package off this week….

🧬 Curious about Unity (NIPT) testing?
It’s a simple blood test done during pregnancy that looks at your baby’s DNA through your blood.

✨ Benefits include:
• Early information (as early as 10 weeks)
• Screens for conditions like Down syndrome, trisomy 18/13, and s*x chromosome differences
• Can also tell you baby’s s*x if you want to know
• Non-invasive (just your blood, no risk to baby)

Have you (or would you) choose NIPT/Unity testing in pregnancy? Why or why not? Drop your thoughts below 👇

09/21/2025

Did you know there are all these other places your baby could implant (abnormally) but the majority of the time they plop down in the right place? Our bodies are amazing!

Normal (Left) and abnormal (Right) pregnancy location sites. https://ow.ly/r4Hq50T8rA5r

🌟 Reposted from American Journal of Gynecology 🌟 dgnt

09/21/2025

Check this out!!!!

As part of the inaugural Deaf and Hard of Hearing Breastfeeding Week 9/16-22, we’re excited to introduce you to another one of the founding members, Yazmin Palmer-Williams🍃

Yazmin is a wife and mother of three children, all under the age of five, all breastfed! At the time of this post, the family’s newest addition is less than one month old. She states, “I think the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Breastfeeding Collective (DHHBFC) is a great place to get together, support each other, and give feedback, and share experiences. It’s cool that we can communicate easily and learn from each other!

Yazmin is a founding member and a co-lead of the DHHBFC. She is excited to work together in this small intimate group, building it up while hoping that it’ll become bigger and bigger. Yazmin is, “thrilled to have Deaf and Hard of Hearing Breastfeeding Week included on the calendar for the nation, wow! Exciting!”

Be sure to check out her vlog that we’re sharing as well as all the other programming, art, and resources we’re sharing this week!


Deaf and Hard of Hearing Breastfeeding Week 🎉
Close the Gap 🙌🏾 Bridge the Divide 🤝🏼 Establish Breastfeeding Support Access 🤲🏽

Image Description: Color close up photograph of Yazmin Palmer, smiling joyfully and wearing glasses with leaves and trees framing the background sky.