Accessibility Statement

1. Our Commitment

At MommyDears, we believe that postpartum care and maternal support should be available to every mother in India — including those with visual, auditory, motor, cognitive, or situational disabilities. Accessibility is not an afterthought for us; it is a foundational principle of how we design and build our platform.

We recognise that new mothers may be recovering from surgery, managing fatigue, breastfeeding with one hand, experiencing postpartum depression, or living with pre-existing conditions that affect how they interact with technology. Our platform is designed with all of these realities in mind.

We are committed to continuously improving the accessibility of MommyDears and welcome feedback from our community at any time.

2. Accessibility Standards

We aim to conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at Level AA, published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). These guidelines are internationally recognised as the benchmark for web accessibility and cover four core principles:

Perceivable: Content is presented in ways that users can perceive — through text, audio descriptions, sufficient colour contrast, and adaptable layouts
Operable: All functionality is accessible via keyboard navigation, and users have enough time to read and interact with content
Understandable: Information and operation of the interface is clear and predictable — we avoid jargon and use plain language
Robust: Content is compatible with current and future assistive technologies including screen readers, voice control, and switch access devices

We also strive to align with India's Guidelines for Indian Government Websites (GIGW) and the accessibility provisions referenced under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

3. Accessibility Features

The following accessibility features are currently implemented across the MommyDears platform:

Visual Accessibility

Colour contrast ratios meeting or exceeding WCAG 2.1 AA minimum (4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text)
Text content does not rely solely on colour to convey meaning
All interactive elements have visible focus indicators
Scalable text — content remains readable up to 200% zoom without horizontal scrolling
Descriptive alt attributes on all meaningful images; decorative images marked as hidden from assistive technologies

Keyboard & Navigation

All interactive elements (buttons, links, form fields) are fully operable via keyboard
Logical tab order that follows the visual flow of the page
Skip-to-main-content link available at the top of each page for keyboard and screen reader users
No keyboard traps — users can navigate away from any component using the keyboard alone

Screen Reader Support

Semantic HTML5 elements used throughout (headings, landmarks, lists, buttons)
ARIA labels and roles applied to interactive components where native HTML semantics are insufficient
Dynamic content updates (such as new chat messages) announced via aria-live regions
Form fields have associated visible labels and descriptive error messages

Forms & Input

All form fields are labelled clearly and persistently
Error messages are specific, actionable, and associated with the relevant field
Required fields are indicated both visually and programmatically
Sufficient time given for form completion — no auto-timeout on standard forms

4. Known Limitations

While we strive for full WCAG 2.1 AA compliance, we acknowledge the following known limitations that we are actively working to resolve:

PDF documents: Some downloadable PDFs may not be fully accessible to screen readers. We are working to produce tagged, accessible versions.
Video content: Some older video content may lack captions or audio descriptions. New content is produced with captions as standard.
Third-party embeds: Certain embedded content from third-party providers (e.g. payment widgets) may not meet our accessibility standards — we are working with our providers to address this.
Complex data tables: Some data tables in the admin interface may not include full row/column headers for screen readers. This is being addressed in our next development cycle.
Voice input feature: Currently relies on the browser's Web Speech API, which is not available in all browsers. A text-only fallback is always available.

If you encounter an accessibility barrier not listed above, please let us know using the contact details in Section 9.

5. Assistive Technologies

MommyDears has been tested for compatibility with the following assistive technologies:

Screen readers: NVDA (Windows), JAWS (Windows), VoiceOver (macOS and iOS), TalkBack (Android)
Browsers: Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Microsoft Edge
Zoom tools: Browser zoom (up to 200%), Windows Magnifier, macOS Zoom
Keyboard-only navigation: Tested on Chrome and Firefox on Windows and macOS
Voice control: Basic compatibility tested with Apple Voice Control and Google Voice Access (Android)

If you experience difficulty using MommyDears with your assistive technology, please contact us — your feedback directly informs our testing priorities.

6. Language & Readability

We understand that our users span diverse literacy levels and linguistic backgrounds across India. We are committed to:

Writing content in plain, clear English at an accessible reading level
Providing multilingual support — our AI chatbot currently supports English, Hindi (हिंदी), and Gujarati (ગુજરાતી), with more languages planned
Avoiding unnecessary medical jargon — where clinical terms are used, plain-language explanations are provided
Using short sentences and paragraphs to improve comprehension for users with cognitive disabilities or those reading in a second language
Providing consistent navigation and layout to reduce cognitive load

The lang attribute is set correctly on all pages to assist screen readers in pronouncing content accurately. Sections in languages other than English are marked with the appropriate lang attribute.

7. Voice & Audio Features

MommyDears includes voice input capabilities to support users who may find typing difficult — including mothers recovering from caesarean sections, those with motor impairments, or users with low digital literacy.

Speech-to-text: Users can speak their queries to the chatbot using the microphone button; speech is transcribed to text in real time
Fallback: A text input is always available as an alternative to voice — voice is never the only means of interaction
Language-aware recognition: The voice feature adapts to the user's selected language (English, Hindi, Gujarati)
Clear visual feedback: A visible listening indicator and live transcript preview confirm that the microphone is active
No background audio autoplay: No audio plays automatically on page load

We plan to add text-to-speech for AI responses in a future release, allowing users to hear responses read aloud.

8. Mobile Accessibility

Given that the majority of our users access MommyDears via mobile devices, mobile accessibility is a primary focus:

Fully responsive design that adapts to all screen sizes, from small smartphones to tablets
Touch targets meet the minimum 44×44 CSS pixel size recommended by WCAG 2.5.5
Content reflows correctly at 400% zoom on mobile browsers without loss of functionality
Swipe gestures are not the only means of performing any action — alternatives are always available
The Platform is designed to work in portrait and landscape orientations
Tested on Android (Chrome, TalkBack) and iOS (Safari, VoiceOver)

9. Feedback & Support

Your feedback is essential to improving accessibility on MommyDears. If you:

Encounter an accessibility barrier on our Platform
Need content in an alternative format (e.g. large print, simplified language)
Require assistance to complete a task due to a disability
Want to report an issue with assistive technology compatibility

Please contact our accessibility team:

Email: accessibility@mommydears.co.in or hello@mommydears.co.in
Phone: +91 9082153275 (Monday–Friday, 10 AM–6 PM IST)
Response time: We aim to respond within 3 business days and resolve issues within 15 business days

We take all accessibility feedback seriously. Reports are reviewed by our product and engineering teams and prioritised accordingly.

10. Third-Party Content

Some content on the MommyDears Platform is provided by or embedded from third-party services, including payment processors, video hosting providers, and analytics tools. While we select third-party partners who share our commitment to accessibility, we cannot guarantee full compliance of all third-party content.

Where third-party content creates an accessibility barrier, we will seek to provide an accessible alternative. Please contact us if you encounter issues with any third-party elements embedded on our Platform.

11. Review & Updates

This Accessibility Statement was last reviewed on 14 May 2026. We review and update our accessibility practices on an ongoing basis, including:

Regular automated accessibility audits using tools such as axe, Lighthouse, and WAVE
Manual testing by team members using assistive technologies
Periodic user testing with people with disabilities
Review of all new features for accessibility compliance before release

We are committed to making progressive improvements and aim to reach full WCAG 2.1 AA compliance across all Platform features. Our roadmap includes enhanced screen reader support, full caption coverage for video content, and text-to-speech AI responses.

This statement will be updated to reflect changes to our Platform and improvements to our accessibility practices.