Experiencing motherhood as a blind mother in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana; a qualitative study

BACKGROUND: Females in developing countries are likely to suffer from visual impairment more than their male counterparts. People living with blindness or any other form of disability also have the right to reproduce and care for their children like all other humans. There is paucity of literature in the experiences of blind mothers in Ghana. Therefore, this study explored the experiences of blind mothers as they navigated the process of motherhood. METHODS: Qualitative exploratory descriptive design was used to conduct the study. Nineteen blind mothers were interviewed individually. Permission was sought for data to be audiotaped, transcribed and content analyzed inductively. RESULTS: Three main themes emerged from the data: mothering role and difficulties (sub-themes; feeding, disciplining and protection), mothering challenges (sub-themes; discrimination and prejudice, financial distress and psychological distress) and coping strategies (prayer, children and self-motivation). Most of the mothers reported difficulties in playing their roles in the areas of feeding, disciplining and protection. Challenges were poverty, discrimination, prejudices on their ability to be mothers and psychological distresses such as depression. They coped with their challenges with prayers, self motivation and the hope they had in their children. CONCLUSION: A lot of public education is needed to make the lives of people living with disability better. Health professionals must be trained to treat blind mothers with dignity and respect.