Midwives should call trans patients ‘giving birth’ rather than mothers in case it harms their mental health, NHS says
- Midwives have been warned they risk harming transgender people by saying “mom.”
Midwives have been warned that they risk harming transgender people who have given birth by calling them “mom” or “mommy.”
NHS protocols tell maternity staff that using the traditional terms could amount to misrepresenting a trans man or non-binary person – and harm their mental health.
They’ve even been advised to warn new parents ahead of time to call themselves “mom” on their baby’s birth certificate, just in case this gets them into trouble.
Hospitals are also increasingly using the term “birth people” instead of women in signs and documents to be more inclusive.
Caroline Ffiske, from the Conservatives For Women campaign group, said: ‘Women have expressed their disgust and disappointment at the way the NHS has deliberately erased the language that describes women and our experience.
Midwives have been warned they risk harming transgender people who have given birth by calling them “mother” or “mother” (File image)
But it’s not just about language. The words used by the NHS show that it is colluding in an ideology that wreaks havoc.
“It creates risks to women’s safety and privacy. It promotes a story that leads to vulnerable young people causing catastrophic damage to their own bodies. No one likes bans, but should the government ban gender ideology within the NHS?’
The Mail asked all NHS hospitals if they had specific pregnancy or pregnancy policies for trans and non-binary patients. Only a handful did, but several others said they were working on it or updating their procedures. North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust said its maternity policy for staff ‘has been updated to remove gender-specific details where possible, and is now called Pregnant Workers and New Parents’.
South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust said: ‘A person giving birth should be treated as a pregnant person and their pregnancy and birth planning should be tailored to the birth of people and their families.’
NHS protocols tell maternity staff that using the traditional terms could amount to misinterpreting a trans man or non-binary person – and harming their mental health (File image)
One of the most detailed guides was produced by University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust in December 2020 and has been adopted across the country.
It says, “Maternity services are typically designed as a cisgender women’s service, which may not meet the needs of trans and non-binary individuals.”
The guide urges staff to welcome “service users regardless of their gender identity” by displaying several posters and labeling restrooms as “women and people only” rather than “women only.”