Depertmant of Midwifery

Accessible Motherhood: Dissemination and Sustainability of a Web-Based Postpartum Care Guide for Women with Hearing and Visual Impairments Project Team:

 

Assoc. Prof. Reyhan AYDIN DOĞAN (Project Leader)

 

 

Lecturer Ümit TOPÇUOĞLU (Project Researcher)  

 

Midwife Gamze GEDİKLİ (Project Researcher)

 

Midwife Burcu Ece BUDAK (Project Researcher)  

 

Research Assistant Begüm CAN (Project Researcher)  

 

Research Assistant Kübra Nur KILIÇ (Project Researcher)

 

 

The “Barrier-Free Motherhood” Social Contribution Project Conducted by Our Department Has Been Successfully Completed

As the Midwifery Department of Karabük University, we are pleased to announce the successful completion of an important project carried out in line with our social contribution vision. The "SD4/GEN/9153-Barrier-Free Motherhood: Dissemination and Sustainability of a Web-Based Postpartum Care Guide for Women with Hearing and Visual Impairments" was carried out between February 17, 2025, and October 29, 2025.

Project Purpose and Target Audience Implemented under the “I Want to Spread the Word” category, this project focuses on a specific need: ensuring the public has access to accurate information and combating misinformation. The project's primary target audience is hearing and visually impaired mothers in Turkey who face difficulties accessing information during the postpartum period. In addition, midwives, healthcare professionals, and relevant institutions such as the Ministry of Health who provide care to this group were also included in the indirect target audience.

Accessible Postpartum Care Guide As part of the project, a web-based “Barrier-Free Motherhood Guide” was prepared to facilitate mothers' access to reliable information during the postpartum period and to ensure equality in access to information. This guide has been made fully accessible with:

• Sign language videos for hearing-impaired mothers,

• Audio content for visually impaired mothers.

Project Impacts and Outcomes Thanks to the online symposium, social media campaigns, and civil society organization collaborations organized during the project, significant awareness has been raised among both mothers with disabilities and healthcare professionals.

•    Through the project, women with hearing and visual impairments reported feeling more secure, informed, and empowered in their postpartum care.

•    Healthcare workers gained awareness of the specific needs of mothers with disabilities.

•    Access to healthcare for mothers with disabilities was strengthened, contributing to the fight against discrimination.

Sustainability and Support The financial and logistical support provided by the Civil Society Initiative program has greatly contributed to the creation of the professional technical infrastructure (sign language translation, voice-over, video editing) required for the preparation of accessible content. The accessible Motherhood web platform created ensured that the guide content remained permanently accessible, thus achieving the sustainability goal by enabling continued use even after the project ended. The experiences gained were also transferred to the literature through scientific publications and presentations.

We would like to thank the entire project team and stakeholders for their efforts and hope that such social contribution projects will continue to increase.