Maple Tomlin was praised for her dedication at the awards ceremony of Deaf Parenting UK.
The midwife from Harlow was nominated by one of the deaf couples she had helped through childbirth.
She was commended in the category ‘professional support to deaf parents’ at the ceremony on October 7, after being shortlisted as one of four finalists.
She said: ‘I was just so nervous and then when I got up to receive my certificate, it just felt like such an honour and privilege.
‘My passion has always been to work with deaf people and it’s an ongoing thing and something I’ll always carry on with.’
Maple is currently studying for a Level 6 NVQ in British Sign Language and has funded her own studies.
She works most closely with deaf couple when there is no sign language interpreter.
‘I’ve looked after five to six deaf families and I’m involved right from the word go and make myself available for all their antenatal appointments,’ she said.
‘If deaf parents have to lip read, then they can lose a lot of information and because I’m already a midwife, I can explain clearly what all the terminology means.
‘The feedback I’ve had from people has been amazing and it’s incredible the trust you can build up over nine months.’
She added that she would like to train other midwives in her area the basics of sign language.
‘Even just knowing a few basic signs can mean the absolute world to a deaf mother,’ she said.
The
awards are run by the charity Deaf Parenting UK, which has just celebrated its tenth anniversary.
