NHS will spend £100,000 teaching staff how to talk to pregnant transgender men


NHS will spend £100,000 on scheme that teaches staff how to be inclusive to pregnant transgender men… and it could see them encouraged to say things like ‘chest-feeding’

  • NHS England put out the £100k tender to extend an inclusivity pilot scheme
  • It is designed to improve resources ‘for trans and non-binary pregnant people’
  • Maternity staff will be alerted about patient pronouns and language preferences 

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Health chiefs are planning on forking out £100,000 on a woke scheme that teaches NHS staff how to treat pregnant transgender men inclusively.

It could encourage the use of gender-neutral terms such as ‘chest-feeding’ or ‘expressing milk’ instead of breastfeeding.

Other trusts promoting similar inclusivity have automated systems alerting midwives to patients’ preferred pronouns.

The six-figure contract, posted by NHS England, aims to ‘improve inclusion of trans and non-binary people accessing maternity services’.

The NHS is set to spend £100,000 on a scheme to help improve inclusion of 'trans and non-binary pregnant people' The NHS is set to spend £100,000 on a scheme to help improve inclusion of 'trans and non-binary pregnant people'

The NHS is set to spend £100,000 on a scheme to help improve inclusion of ‘trans and non-binary pregnant people’

The cash will go towards training staff and creating resources to help them be more inclusive. 

The scheme has already been trialed at some NHS trusts, the contract states. 

Other trusts have their own expectations on how to treat transgender men accessing maternity services.

One of these is the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, which has its own gender-inclusion team. 

On its website, the trust said: ‘We understand the extra challenges gender identity can have on pregnancy, birth and infant feeding.

‘We will provide inclusive, respectful care to pregnant people and their families.

‘Our midwives’ role is to ­support a pregnant person’s journey through each stage of pregnancy, birth, and the early days with their baby.’

It comes after it was revealed in October that midwifery degrees starting that month would teach students how to look after ‘pregnant people’ and ‘birthing parents’ rather than ‘women’. 

The courses, which train midwives for the NHS, have replaced references to mothers with gender-neutral language to be inclusive of trans people.

NHS England, backed by Health Secretary Steve Barclay, has put out the £100,000 tender to expand and roll out the training following a pilot scheme at trusts NHS England, backed by Health Secretary Steve Barclay, has put out the £100,000 tender to expand and roll out the training following a pilot scheme at trusts

NHS England, backed by Health Secretary Steve Barclay, has put out the £100,000 tender to expand and roll out the training following a pilot scheme at trusts

Several degree courses starting this autumn have used the inclusive language on their websites or in course materials. However, critics said it risked ‘dehumanising women’ and reducing them to ‘bodies’ that give birth.

Northumbria University, which implemented the inclusive language, said: ‘While the vast majority of people who are pregnant and give birth will identify as women, we ensure that our programmes acknowledge that students may provide care for those who may not. 

‘This is in line with information set out in the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s standards of proficiency for midwives.’ 

A spokesman for the campaign group Woman’s Place UK said: ‘Pregnancy and birth are experiences that are unique to women. 

‘Phrases such as “birthing people” and “childbearing people” reduce women to bodies whose sole function is to carry and give birth to babies.’

An earlier version of this article repeated a claim first made in the Sun that University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust took part in a trial of the scheme that health chiefs want to roll out further. The trust was not part of the trial. 

In related news…

Monkeypox is renamed ‘mpox’ by the WHO after claims decades-old term was ‘racist and discriminatory towards Africa’ 

The ‘genderbread person’ will see you now! NHS trust could start sticking ‘unscientific’ gender identity posters up as part of inclusivity drive 

BOYS as young as 12 might be asked if they are PREGNANT in latest woke language storm to engulf health service 

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