NHS urged to use terms ‘chestfeeding’ and ‘frontal birth’ instead of breastfeeding or vaginal birth

Maternity services should use ‘inclusive’ terms like ‘chestfeeding’ so trans pregnant people aren’t offended, a Government-funded report says. 

The report, from the LGBT Foundation, made the recommendation after surveying 121 trans Britons on their experience of pregnancy.

Another example of a gender-loaded term is ‘vaginal birth’, recommending ‘frontal’ or ‘lower birth’ instead.

The report said inclusive terms should be used across NHS services and people and national guidance should be introduced to ensure pregnant trans have the option of their preferred words.

‘It is not possible to guess the language someone might use to describe themselves based on how they look or sound, or who they are in a relationship with,’ the report reads. 

The charity also says some trans and non-binary people would benefit from having a private space in hospitals to give birth, so that they are not made uncomfortable by seeing women. 

It detailed the experience of one trans person, who said: ‘I didn’t have to go to a ward full of women after giving birth, I was actually provided with a private room for me and baby which was very helpful and accommodating for me and my gender identity.’ 

NHS services are currently in a ‘woke’ storm of de-gendering language surrounding women and pregnancy. 

Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust is now referring to breastmilk as ‘human milk’ in official guidance.

The new report was commissioned by the Health & Wellbeing Alliance, a partnership between charities and the NHS, which is managed jointly by the Department of Health and Social Care and Office for Health Improvement and Disparities.

It lays out a series of recommendations in its ‘Trans + Non Binary Experiences of Maternity Services’ report.

The charity said a third pregnant trans and non-nonbinary parents surveyed reported not engaging with perinatal care during their pregnancy.

This compares to just 2.1 per cent of  the general population.

Of the survey respondents, 59 per cent said healthcare professionals did not speak to them in a way which reflected their gender.

Additionally, 28 per cent of respondents said they had not been treated with ‘dignity and respect’ during both labour and birth.  

One respondent, described as a disabled, non-binary, queer, Black British African, said: ‘I felt there was no framework of language that was inclusive of people who do not identify within the gender binary so it was consistently a triggering experience.’

Another trans person said a midwife attributed their postnatal depression to them knowing ‘deep down’ that they should stop the transition. 

‘When I suffered from some depression after having my baby a midwife suggested it was because “deep down I knew I didn’t want to transition anymore” this was deeply unhelpful and made me feel even worse,’ they said.    

And fewer than half of those surveyed said their decisions around how to feed their baby were respected by midwives.

This, the LGBT Foundation claimed, ‘suggests potential harm for the birthing parent through disrespectful interaction, and to the baby where there are unresolved questions about feeding.’

They detailed the experience of another trans person, who said his baby’s tongue-tie, a condition where the shape of a child’s tongue makes it harder to breastfeed, was missed as medical professionals ‘assumed’ he could not produce milk.

‘My baby’s tongue tie was not treated early because it was assumed I wouldn’t chest feed at all, when in fact I could have,’ he said. 

The report’s authors also said racism experienced by Black and Asian trans people was also a factor in poorer pregnancy care for these demographics.

In its report, the LGBT Foundation name a fictional person called Cam, a ‘Black Caribbean non-binary transmasculine person going through their second pregnancy’, as an example of how NHS maternity services should be run. 

‘Cam’ had a traumatic first birth where they concealed their gender identity and is, therefore, reluctant to engage with perinatal care services. 

The LGBT Foundation list a variety of ways services could be made more inclusive for Cam, such as using language like ‘pregnant people’ instead of ‘pregnant women’.

It also recommends the use of terms like ‘chestfeeding’ or ‘bodyfeeding’ instead of breastfeeding. 

Other examples include having NHS staff with identity badges which show their preferred pronouns, gender-inclusive training for midwives, and NHS data tracking outcomes for trans and non-binary pregnancies.

The survey responders were recruited via social media between November 2020 and March 2021 and were then interviewed about their experience by the LGBT Foundation.