Perinatal Care For Trans And Non-Binary People Birthing In Heteronormative ‘Maternity’ Services: Experiences And Educational Needs Of Professionals

Sally Pezaro, Rebecca Crowther, Gemma Pearce, Adam Jowett, Laura Godfrey-Issacs, Isaac Samuels, Vic Valentine

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    21 Citations (Scopus)
    515 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    Childbearing trans and non-binary people are confronted with the heteronormative and cisgenderist frameworks which underpin ‘maternity’ services. We explored the trans and non-binary related experiences and educational needs of 108 perinatal staff in the United Kingdom. Participants were most confident in formulating care plans and least confident about the provision of colleagues’ perinatal care in this context. Whilst the majority of participants were positive toward the trans and non-binary communities, they remain marginalised in perinatal services. Transphobic, anti-trans and non-binary attitudes are highlighted. Experiences of providing care related to ‘Recognising individuality’, ‘Witnessing transphobia among colleagues’, and ‘Apprehension about providing care to childbearing trans and non-binary people’. Challenges in providing care related to ‘A Cisheteronormative model of care’, ‘Lack of awareness of trans and non-binary issues’ and ‘Anti-trans and non-binary attitudes’. Educational needs related to the ‘Practicalities of childbearing as a trans or non-binary person’, ‘Inclusive language’ and ‘Policies and processes for supporting childbearing trans and non-binary people’. Educational preferences focused on ‘Hearing from trans and non-binary people’, ‘Sharing best practice’ and ‘Open discussions about how to be inclusive’. Focus is required on professional education, and an expansion of system capabilities to collect individualised data, in identity affirming services.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)124-151
    Number of pages28
    JournalGender and Society
    Volume37
    Issue number1
    Early online date1 Dec 2022
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Feb 2023

    Bibliographical note

    © 2022 by The Author(s)
    Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions
    This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/),
    which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited..

    Keywords

    • Transgender
    • Gender
    • Maternity
    • Midwifery
    • Education
    • Reproduction

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • General Nursing
    • General Social Sciences

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Perinatal Care For Trans And Non-Binary People Birthing In Heteronormative ‘Maternity’ Services: Experiences And Educational Needs Of Professionals'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this