Silent Labour: The untold struggles of deaf mothers in Ghana’s healthcare system

 A baby’s first cry is univer­sal—needing no translation, interpreter, or explana­tion. Yet, for deaf mothers in Ghana, the cry for support and understanding in the healthcare system often echoes unheard.

In overcrowded waiting rooms, they observe other mothers exchanging concerns and laughter with doctors and nurses.

For them, however, commu­nication is a struggle, and vital instructions fade into oblivion. Their journey to motherhood is fraught with a double burden: nurturing life while navigating a system that neither speaks their language nor values their voice.

The trauma of being un­heard

Bilkisu, a 26-year-old soy­abean seller from Gyang­yanadze in the Efutu Municipal District, knows this reality all too well. Now pregnant with her second child, her first pregnancy remains a painful memory.

“On the day of delivery, I ar­rived at the hospital around 6:00 p.m., but it was midnight before I delivered,” she recounts, her voice heavy with emotion. “Even then, it took my mother’s intervention to force the nurses to attend to me. The stigma and discrimination, even at the point of care, are terrible,” the four-months-pregnant woman, also married to a hearing-impaired husband, shared.

From incorrect prescriptions that nearly caused a miscar­riage to labouring for six hours without proper attention, her experiences mirror the silent struggles faced by many deaf mothers in Ghana.

Two worlds apart

Cynthia Addo, a teacher at the Tetteh Ocloo State School for the Deaf, offers a rare glimpse into what supportive maternal care could look like for a hear­ing impaired pregnant woman.

Benefiting from an organised support system, her parents and friends ensure she is never alone at medical appointments.

“Luckily for me, I’ve had the same team of doctors and nurs­es throughout my pregnancies,” she says. “But what about those who don’t have such privileges? They are left to suffer.”

Systemic challenges

Ghana is home to an estimat­ed 200,000 hearing-impaired individuals, forming part of its eight per cent population of persons with disabilities (PWDs). Yet, for deaf pregnant women, systemic barriers, in­cluding the absence of sign lan­guage interpreters and the lack of tailored care, turn pregnancy into a perilous journey.

Despite Ghana’s progressive Persons with Disability Act (Act 715) of 2006 and its ratifica­tion of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2012, the promises of accessibility and non-discrimination remain largely unfulfilled.

General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of the Deaf (GNAD), Mabel Adjei Mintaah, emphasizes the grim consequences.

“Many deaf women avoid healthcare facilities entirely due to the attitudinal and commu­nication barriers. This often leads to home deliveries, which sometimes result in preventable deaths.”

The Human Right to Repro­ductive Health

“There are health workers who make derogatory com­ments about why a disabled person should have sex and be pregnant in the first place,” Mintaah notes. “But deaf women have the same right to reproductive health and family as everyone else,” she empha­sised.

The lack of inclusive health­care is not just a rights issue but a pressing public health con­cern especially at a point where Ghana is striving to reduce its maternal mortality ratio (MMR) which stands at 319 per 100,000 live births, far from the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s target of 70 by 2030.

A long road ahead

David Awusi, Executive Director of Youth Rise Inter­national, a civil society organi­sation promoting health equity, describes the neglect of basic sign language training in medi­cal institutions as alarming.

“There are no national standard operating guidelines for disability care in our health­care system. Without national guidelines for disability care, we are failing our most vulnerable citizens,” he warns.

Juventus Duorinaah, Ghana’s first hearing-impaired lawyer and human rights activist, calls for urgent amendments to the outdated PWDs Act.

“Deaf people face numerous stereotypes and discrimination. Parliament must act swiftly on passing the revised bill to make the law more responsive to our current needs.”

However, there is hope on the horizon. Patience Ofosuhemaa, the Programme Coordinator for Disability Inclusion at the Ghana Health Service (GHS), reveals plans for Ghana’s first disability-inclusive healthcare policy, expected to roll out by next year.

“The policy will include training service providers in disability care, appointing sign language interpreters, and ad­dressing infrastructural inacces­sibility,” she explains. “It’s time we bridge these gaps to ensure inclusive healthcare for all.”

The cry for dignity

With more females (8.8 per cent) in Ghana suffering from disability conditions compared to males (6.7 per cent), Ms Ofosuhemaa stresses the urgent need to bridge existing ineq­uities in healthcare access to ensure a live of dignity for all.

For women like Bilkisu, the solution is simple but profound. “I just want to be treated with dignity and respect,” she says. “I want to understand what’s happening to my body and my baby.”

As Ghana strives toward universal health coverage by 2030, the voices of deaf moth­ers must no longer be ignored. Their silent cries demand ac­tion—not tomorrow, but today.

*This reporting was com­pleted with the support of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) in partnership with the Institute for War and Peace Reporting.*

 BY ABIGAIL ANNOH