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Abstract: This articled discusses issues childbirth educators must consider when working with pregnant lesbian couples. Careful choice of language can help the childbirth educator develop respectful working relationships with pregnant lesbian couples. These terms were provided as a place to start building the foundation for a respectful and inclusive relationship. Supporting the pregnant lesbian couple via active listening and referring supportive networks were also discussed.
Keywords: lesbian couples, inclusive language, supportive listening, cultural competence
Introduction
Becoming a parent is often rewarding (Baiocco & Laghi, 2013). This article focuses on helping lesbian couples through their pregnancy. Discussed are terms that can help the childbirth educator build a rapport with the pregnant lesbian couples, inclusion of both parents, and support. The information presented is not intended to cover all of the issues that affect pregnant lesbian couples but rather to add guidance to the current practice for pregnant lesbian couples.
Terminology
Having an extensive word bank is important in almost every situation as the words we use shape and expand our worldview (Hartman, 1991). Our word bank affects how we share ourselves, our thoughts, and shapes our opinion of self and others. For childbirth educators, understanding words that are used helps them talk with and understand pregnant lesbian couples.
The job for the childbirth educator is to understand the preferences of the family system and avoid patterns of communication and expression that follow heteronormative preferences. Inclusive language is likely to improve the relationship between the parents and birth staff. In "normal thinking," the "parents" are assumed a mother and a father. Communicate in a neutral way during the early meetings, and explore the preferences of the parents. Evaluate the way they communicate throughout the pregnancy to ensure it is inclusive of same sex families. This would include a critical evaluation of program materials, forms, applications and other relevant information used by the birth educator.
Lesbian parents often choose from a variety of terms to describe their family system. Terms such as non-biological mother, co-parent, social mother, other...