When Tiffany Jesteadt, born blind from a hereditary disease, thought she might be pregnant, her sighted husband read her the results not by choice but by necessity. It took some of the “magic” away, she said, explaining how shows and movies often depict women surprising their husbands by cleverly hiding the positive pregnancy test.
“It’s cultural to tell your husband,” said Ms. Jesteadt, 33, an organizational development practitioner with the US Marine Corps. While she and her husband were telling each other, she said disclosing information about her own body “is something a woman should control.”
Making the testing experience more private also decreases the judgment that many blind women experience on their way to motherhood.
Josselyn Sosa was a senior college student when she found out she was pregnant. First, Ms. Sosa reached out to a trusted friend who accompanied her to buy a test at a CVS store which she then took in his bathroom. Her friend also had visual problems and could not read the results either. So Ms. Sosa went to the health center at her little college in Texas where a doctor said, “I’m so sorry, but it came back positive.”
“She felt she had a chance to speak up,” said Ms. Sosa, 28, who was born with congenital glaucoma in her right eye and lost her left eye due to retinal detachment when she was 12 years old. Husband, who is also blind, only for a short time. “I just wanted out to take care of it myself,” she said. “It was such a big deal for me.”
Ms. Sosa gave birth to a baby girl who is now 4 years old. She graduated with a degree in Hospitality Administration this month and is pregnant with her second child, expected in June.
Ms. Sosa used the Be My Eyes app for her current pregnancy. It was a better experience, but she still felt like she was giving up her privacy, she said.
Comments are closed.