e: 11pt”>The revelations prompted the Department of Health to slap down the NHS, saying the language would confuse patients and was a “waste of time”.
“The NHS needs to be laser-focused on the things that matter to patients,” a spokesman said.
“Women should not look forward to childbirth in fear and look back on it with trauma.
“That is the urgent problem in maternity services the NHS ought to be solving.
“Unnecessarily erasing the word ‘mothers’ from NHS documents is a waste of time and confusing for patients.”
At least, encouragingly, the Department of Health is on the right side here.
Helen Joyce, director of advocacy of human rights charity Sex Matters, said the term “birthing people” was “dehumanising”.
“It’s not just ludicrous to see jobs for midwives referring to ‘birthing people’ instead of ‘mothers’: it’s disgusting,” she said.
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