Many deaf families experience inequality during pregnancy and childbirth, which arises mainly from issues associated with communication.
Our director Lesley Weatherson is the only qualified British Sign Language (BSL) Interpreter who is also a qualified midwife, in the UK. Lesley has supported numerous Deaf women through labour and regularly provides training to other communication professionals.
We ensure that you feel full supported through your labour, from the very first scan, all the way until your baby is born.
Pregnancy usually lasts about 40 weeks, or just over 9 months, as measured from the last menstrual period to delivery. Health care providers refer to three segments of pregnancy, called trimesters.
You’ll likely notice the first signs of a bump early in the second trimester, between weeks 12 and 16. You might start showing closer to 12 weeks if you are a person of lower weight with a smaller midsection, and closer to 16 weeks if you’re a person with more weight.
You may need to book one or more of the following communication professionals:
All of our communication professionals are NRCPD registered and follow a strict code of conduct. The Lipspeaker UK team can advise on the most appropriate professional to book.