“Chestfeeding” and “Birthing Parent:” Staff at UK Hospital Told to Use “Trans-Friendly” Language
Evan James
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Staff members at a UK hospital have been instructed to replace terms like “mother” and “breastfeeding” with “birthing parent” and “chestfeeding.”
Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, according to The Times, is the first hospital in Britain to “formally implement a gender inclusive language policy” for its maternity wing, which, naturally, will be renamed “perinatal services.”
The changes are not just limited to “birthing parent” and “chestfeeding.” Other changes include replacing “breastmilk” with “human milk” or “milk from the feeding mother or parent”; replacing “woman” with “woman or person”; and “father” with “parent,” “co-parent,” or “second biological parent.”
The hospital clarified in an internal policy document that staff need not eliminate all uses of the word “woman” or all phrases relating to motherhood, but to consciously use “inclusive language” in general.
“Gender identity can be a source of oppression and health inequality. We are consciously using the words ‘women’ and ‘people’ together to make it clear that we are committed to working on addressing health inequalities for all those who use our services,” the document reads. “As midwives and birth workers, we focus on improving access and health outcomes for marginalised and disadvantaged groups. Women are frequently disadvantaged in healthcare, as are trans and non-binary people.”
As if that weren’t enough, the document also decries the “biological essentialism and transphobia” infecting “elements of mainstream birth narratives and discourse.”
“We strive to protect our trans and non-binary service users and healthcare professionals from additional persecution as a consequence of terminology changes, recognising the significant impact this can have on psychological and emotional wellbeing.”
The city of Brighton has a much higher rate of self-identified “LGBTQ+” people than the general British populace. Citing “research,” The Times says approximately 10 percent of the Brighton population identifies as “LGBTQ+,” as opposed to 2.2 percent of the general population.
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