February 2021
Breastfeeding is now ‘chestfeeding’, at Brighton’s Maternity services
Midwives at Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust have been told to say “chestfeeding” instead of “breastfeeding” and to replace the term “mother” with “mother or birthing parent” as part of moves to be more trans-friendly. The trust is the first in the country to formally implement a gender inclusive language policy for its maternity department, which will now be known as “perinatal services”. A policy released this week states that staff should not stop using the word “woman” or other terms describing motherhood but they should consciously start adding in the word “people” and other more inclusive language.