Hundreds of doctors and midwives have signed a letter calling on the NHS to scrap a £100,000 training scheme to encourage the use of terms such as ‘breastfeeding’ and ‘breast milk’.
The Maternity Gender Inclusion Program is being rolled out nationwide with a focus on improving maternity care for pregnant transgender patients.
But health professionals are enthusiastic about the proposals, accusing the NHS of being “ideologically trapped” by the trans lobby.
They argue that the insistence on “inclusive” language – such as “biological parent” instead of mother and “milk from the nursing mother or a parent” instead of human milk – could alienate other vulnerable patient groups while taking overworked midwives off the wards become
Hundreds of doctors and midwives have signed a letter calling on the NHS to scrap a £100,000 training scheme to encourage the use of terms such as ‘breastfeeding’ and ‘breast milk’ (file photo).
They warned that the NHS risks harming patients by repeating past mistakes linked to trans lobbying, such as: Take the Tavistock Clinic’s Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS), which was closed after a damning report revealed that patients are frequently referred.
Yesterday, more than 2,000 people, including 297 health professionals such as doctors, nurses and midwives, along with hundreds of other researchers and non-clinical staff, signed a petition to withdraw the tender.
The letter, written by the With Woman coalition for maternity care, said the program was based on “flawed” research with no clinical evidence that pregnant trans patients had poor outcomes.
It warned health leaders they were risking another Tavistock situation.
The group wrote: “Recent events at Tavistock [GIDS] showed how the practice, supported by poor research and the influence of interest groups with a particular ideology, led to a scandal that we do not want to repeat in midwifery.’
The NHS contract specifically relates to the Improving Trans Experiences of Maternity Services (ITEMS) project, commissioned by organizations including NHS England, the Department of Health and Public Health England to explore the experiences of transgender people and non-binary people giving birth investigate, improve.
Research has suggested that trans and non-binary birth parents often withhold their gender or trans status to manage their care more safely and avoid transphobia.
Health professionals argue that the insistence on “inclusive” language – such as “birth parent” instead of mother and “milk from the nursing mother or a parent” instead of breast milk – can alienate others
Following a pilot last year at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust, the NHS aims to extend the training to at least 40 NHS maternity services.
Renaming the maternity ward “perinatal services,” she asserted that “gender identity can be a source of oppression and health disparities.”
But midwives said the profession was already “absolutely committed to personal care” and already “entwined” with policies.
One midwife, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of losing her job, said colleagues were very concerned about the proposal – which is based on research that lacks an independent assessment or assessment of its impact on non-trans patients and other disadvantaged groups did not provide. .
She said: “It seems to us that giving £100,000 on the basis of this rather shoddy work is not based on improving outcomes for mothers and babies, but on an ideological agenda.”
An NHS spokesman said: “The NHS has suspended this program while we investigate its scope and so it is based on the latest evidence.”
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
