Are you a birth worker who is looking to expand your skill set, explore a new topic, or get new perspective? The Birth Mag team has compiled a list of upcoming classes, workshops, skillshares, and mentorship opportunities for kicking the new year off right. All courses listed are either live or have a live component, and are available virtually.
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Someone you know is LGBTQIA+, possibly even someone you love.
If you’ve been in practice for any length of time, chances are you have LGBTQIA+ clients.
Even if you don’t know which ones they are.
Even if you practice in a small rural town.
Even if you think your practice serves a “different” niche of clientele.
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For most of human history, people have parented and raised their families collaboratively. It wasn’t until recently – the mid-19th century – that families started to be recognizable as what most westerners now think of as “normal.” That is to say, centered around a monogamous marriage, typically between a “mom” and a “dad,” who will usually raise children with little-to-no community support. This model works for some, mostly works for many, and doesn’t work at all for many more. Divorce rates are high, especially in the first few years after having a child. Many parents feel exhausted, depleted, and spread too thin. The demands of parenting – heck, the demands of being human – are unrealistic for most people to take on alone or with just one supporting partner.
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Are you in need of continuing education units this year? Do you also want to do better in caring for LGBTQ+ clients as a birthworker? We have some ideas for you. Midwifery Care for Every Body: Integrating Gender Inclusive Practices for the Benefit of All Clients You have to act fast for this one! This introductory level course from queer midwife Ray Rachlin will be held this Saturday (October 19th, 2019) in Philadelphia, PA. Topics include vocabulary related to care for transgender clients, approaches to informed consent, inclusive infant feeding, and more. Space is limited, but still available, at $70 for those needing CEUs. A sliding scale is available for birthworkers of color. 2 Contact Hours (ACNM) Contraception Care for Transmasculine Individuals on Testosterone Therapy This course focuses very specifically on a single topic that is exactly as the title suggests: contraception for people who were assigned female at birth and currently on testosterone therapy. Course content is available online through Wiley Health Learning, with content pulled from the Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health (the official journal of the ACNM). Access requires a membership or subscription that may result in additional costs, but the CEU granting course itself is $20 for members and $25 for nonmembers. 2 Contact Hours (ACNM) Providing Culturally Sensitive Care for LGBTQ Families This online course from Seattle, WA based MAIA Midwifery & Fertility covers a broad range of topics relating to caring for LGBTQ+ clients, starting from planning and conception, all he way up to the postpartum period and infant feeding. This course discusses both common situations for non-heterosexual parents, and information specific to gender identity and expression, and a section fully dedicated to approaching care with cultural humility. It is notably longer than any other on this list. The course is $225. 7 Contact Hours (MEAC and ACNM) Clinical Care for Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Patients This course is not birthworker specific, but it does specifically address reproductive health. It’s overall focus is on providing better informed consent, evidence based practice, and culturally appropriate care for those who are gender nonconforming or transgender. Course is available online with a $12 fee for CEU certificates. 1.5 Contact Hours (CNE or CME)
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by Ren Lorio-Dominguez Everyone deserves pregnancy care that includes them. Transgender and gender non-binary folks often struggle to see themselves represented in healthcare situations, or included in language surrounding birth. They frequently face barriers to care, face discrimination in care, or are unable to access care at all. A large 2015 survey found that a third of the transgender and non-binary respondents had negative experiences with health care workers in the previous year, including harassment, physical violence, or sexual assault. 8% had been outright refused healthcare in the previous 12 months. Those who also had disabilities or were people of color experienced these things at even higher rates. With these abuses happening so frequently, it should be no surprise that 23% reported they had not sought needed healthcare because of fear of mistreatment.1 Non-binary and transgender people need safe places to receive care. Healthcare professionals believing they are LGBTQIA+ friendly is not enough. Using inclusive language tells transgender and non-binary folks that you are aware they get pregnant, have babies, and lactate also. Language alone is also not enough, but it is a big piece of the larger picture. A study found that trans and non-binary people who had access to an inclusive care provider had significantly lower rates of depression and suicidal thoughts than those who did not; 38% when receiving inclusive care compared to 54% of those without.2 In a population that is nine times more likely to attempt suicide than the general population of the United States1, this is crucial. A good place to start in learning to use inclusive language is letting go of assumptions. Get comfortable asking people what their pronouns are, then use the ones they prefer. Start separating gender and anatomy in your mind. If the specifics of their anatomy are not relevant to the care you are providing, mind your own business. If they are relevant, which they often will be for birthworkers, avoid reflexively attaching gender to body parts. A pregnant person definitely has a uterus, but a woman may or may not, and a person with a uterus may or may not be a woman. Some anatomical terms have so much baggage with them that some transgender and non-binary folks may feel more comfortable using less loaded alternatives. If you’re unclear, ask what they prefer. One pregnant person may be completely comfortable discussing a baby passing through their “vagina”, while…
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