Term ‘expectant mother’ may be offensive
LONDON • The British Medical Association has said pregnant women should not be called “expectant mothers” as it could offend transgender people.
Instead, they should call them “pregnant people” so as not to upset intersex and transgender men, the union has said.
The advice comes in an internal document to staff outlining a raft of common phrases that should be avoided for fear of causing offence.
“The elderly” should be referred to as “older people,” “disabled lifts” called “accessible lifts” and someone who is “biologically male or female” should be called “assigned male or female.”
The BMA said the document was purely guidance for its staff on effective communication within the workplace, not advice to its 156,000 doctor members on how to deal with patients.
On pregnancy and maternity, it says: “Gender inequality is reflected in traditional ideas about the roles of women and men. Though they have shifted over time, the assumptions and stereotypes that underpin those ideas are often deeply rooted.”
It adds: “A large majority of people that have been pregnant or have given birth identify as women. We can include intersex men and transmen who may get pregnant by saying ‘pregnant people’ instead of ‘ expectant mothers.’ ”
It recently emerged that a Briton who was born a girl but wants to become a man has put surgery on hold in order to have a baby.
Hayden Cross, 20, is legally male and had hormone treatment but not yet had sex-change surgery.
There are no other known cases of a transitioning person becoming pregnant in the U.K.
The guide also advises staff to substitute the words “surname” or “last name” for “family name.”
“Mankind” and “manpower” should be avoided because it is “not good practice” to use a “masculine noun,” instead swapped for “humanity” and “personnel,” and listing prefixes for names such as Prof., Dr., Mr., Mrs. or Miss should not be put in a particular order on forms to avoid a “perceived hierarchy.”
The advice came in a 14-page leaflet, called A Guide to Effective Communication: Inclusive Language in the Workplace.
Conservative MP Philip Davies described the guidance as “completely ridiculous.”
“If you can’t call a pregnant woman an expectant mother, then what is the world coming to,” he asked.
However, Heather Ashton, from the transgender support group TG Pals, said: “We know that biological females are the pregnant ones but trans people are parents too, and this is massive step forward to prevent discrimination against them. The fact that the terminology is changing can only be a positive thing for everyone who wants to be a parent and has the right to be a parent.”