Being deaf in a hearing world is difficult. There is so much going on around you but you feel disconnected. Aww!! And being a deaf Single Mum to a very beautiful girl is harder.
In a video shared by "BBC Africa" via Twitter, Catherine who is a deaf and a single mother to a baby girl narrates her ordeal and difficult it takes in taking care of herself and her new-born.
According to Catherine in the said video (she use signs Language, it was interpreted and translated in words), she is on a recovery journey from Postpartum Depression (PPD). After she had her baby in 2020, she was diagnosed with PPD, a mental illness that affects behaviour and physical health of some new mothers. Signs include sadness, hopelessness and fatigue.
"When I gave birth, nobody was there for me. I'm a single mother. I'm also an orphan. I was alone with the baby in the house, with no means of taking care of her or myself. No one called or visited to see how we were doing." She said.
She was however thinking of how her baby would turn out when she grows up.
She also recount how, during the day, her baby (Kaylene) cried and she failed to notice. Sometimes her neighbours would throw stones at her house to alert her. She cried so much especially at night. Adding that it sometimes appears to her in a dream and she will wake up.
"At times I would dream about it and wake up. And there are days feeding or carrying her didn't work because I failed to understand what she wanted." She narrates.
But luckily for her, she met Judy and she took them in. She now lives with her and her family. She have been helping her to raise the baby and she feels somehow ok now.
Judy is the founder of 'Talking Hands Listening Eyes' (THLEP), a sign language interpreter and a mental health advocate for deaf mothers.
Talking Hands Listening Eyes on Postpartum Depression helps deaf mum's like Catherine and many other deaf mums out there going through the same. They don't know how it manifests and how one can be supported.so they help and teach them how to take care of themselves and their new-born.
At Keyatta University Institution Repository It is estimated that 30 of new Mother's in Africa surfers PPD, with over 10 present of the cases reported in Kenya.
Catherine, despite being deaf and a single mum, she is happy and hopeful now because she had met Judy.
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