Effective Communication About Pregnancy, Birth, Lactation, Breastfeeding and Newborn Care: The Importance of Sexed Language

doi:10.3389/fgwh.2022.818856

. 2022 Feb 7:3:818856.

doi: 10.3389/fgwh.2022.818856. eCollection 2022.

Effective Communication About Pregnancy, Birth, Lactation, Breastfeeding and Newborn Care: The Importance of Sexed Language

Karleen D Gribble¹, Susan Bewley², Melissa C Bartick^{3

4}, Roger Mathisen⁵, Shawn Walker^{2

6}, Jenny Gamble^{7

8}, Nils J Bergman⁹, Arun Gupta¹⁰, Jennifer J Hocking¹¹, Hannah G Dahlen¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University, Parramatta, NSW, Australia.
² Department of Women and Children's Health, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
³ Mount Auburn Hospital, Cambridge, MA, United States.
⁴ Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.
⁵ Alive & Thrive Southeast Asia, FHI Solutions, Hanoi, Vietnam.
⁶ Chelsea and Westminster Hospital National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom.
⁷ School of Nursing and Midwifery, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
⁸ Centre for Health Care Research, Coventry University, Coventry, United Kingdom.
⁹ Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
¹⁰ Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India, New Delhi, India.
¹¹ School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.

PMID: 35224545
PMCID: PMC8864964
DOI: 10.3389/fgwh.2022.818856

Effective Communication About Pregnancy, Birth, Lactation, Breastfeeding and Newborn Care: The Importance of Sexed Language

Karleen D Gribble et al. Front Glob Womens Health. 2022.

. 2022 Feb 7:3:818856.

doi: 10.3389/fgwh.2022.818856. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University, Parramatta, NSW, Australia.
² Department of Women and Children's Health, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
³ Mount Auburn Hospital, Cambridge, MA, United States.
⁴ Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.
⁵ Alive & Thrive Southeast Asia, FHI Solutions, Hanoi, Vietnam.
⁶ Chelsea and Westminster Hospital National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom.
⁷ School of Nursing and Midwifery, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
⁸ Centre for Health Care Research, Coventry University, Coventry, United Kingdom.
⁹ Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
¹⁰ Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India, New Delhi, India.
¹¹ School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.

PMID: 35224545
PMCID: PMC8864964
DOI: 10.3389/fgwh.2022.818856

No abstract available

Keywords: breastfeeding; gender identity; health communication; inclusivity; mothers; pregnancy; sex; women.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Comment in

Commentary: Effective communication about pregnancy, birth, lactation, breastfeeding and newborn care: the importance of sexed language.
Giacomozzi M, Muntinga M, Pezaro S. Giacomozzi M, et al. Front Glob Womens Health. 2025 Jan 15;5:1519979. doi: 10.3389/fgwh.2024.1519979. eCollection 2024. Front Glob Womens Health. 2025. PMID: 39881838 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

Cited by

How Woman-Centred Care Is Experienced and Understood in Maternity Services by Women and Professionals: A Rapid Review.
Gregory S, Caffrey L, Daly D, Sheaf G. Gregory S, et al. Scand J Caring Sci. 2025 Sep;39(3):e70086. doi: 10.1111/scs.70086. Scand J Caring Sci. 2025. PMID: 40637288 Free PMC article. Review.
Development and Validation of a Scale to Measure Person-Centered Care in Fetal Care Centers.
Wilpers A, White M, Austin MT, Bahtiyar MO, Francis K, Emery SP, Wall D, Somers L, Wool C. Wilpers A, et al. Fetal Diagn Ther. 2024;51(3):243-254. doi: 10.1159/000537691. Epub 2024 Feb 7. Fetal Diagn Ther. 2024. PMID: 38325342 Free PMC article.
Exploring exclusive breastfeeding readiness: experiences of first-time mothers in Lusaka, Zambia.
Sichimba F, Nakazwe KC, Halawi L, Khalaf A. Sichimba F, et al. Int J Qual Stud Health Well-being. 2025 Dec;20(1):2463159. doi: 10.1080/17482631.2025.2463159. Epub 2025 Feb 9. Int J Qual Stud Health Well-being. 2025. PMID: 39924974 Free PMC article.
Associations between social-network characteristics and postpartum health behaviors and weight among a sample of women who were overweight/obese pre-pregnancy.
Kent-Marvick J, Wong B, Simonsen SE, Cloyes KG, Debbink MP, Creal C, de la Haye K. Kent-Marvick J, et al. Womens Health (Lond). 2025 Jan-Dec;21:17455057251321872. doi: 10.1177/17455057251321872. Epub 2025 Mar 12. Womens Health (Lond). 2025. PMID: 40071980 Free PMC article.
Should Mother Baby Units be renamed Parent Baby Units? A critical reflection on gendered language in perinatal psychiatry.
Isobel S. Isobel S. Australas Psychiatry. 2024 Dec;32(6):589-592. doi: 10.1177/10398562241273069. Epub 2024 Aug 19. Australas Psychiatry. 2024. PMID: 39158372 Free PMC article.

See all "Cited by" articles

References

1. Botelle R, Connolly D, Walker S, Bewley S. Contemporary and future transmasculine pregnancy and postnatal care in the UK. Practicing Midwife. (2021) 24:8–13.
1. Bewley S, McCartney M, Meads C, Rogers A. Sex, gender, and medical data. BMJ. (2021) 372:n735. 10.1136/bmj.n735 - DOI - PubMed
1. Sullivan A. Sex and the census: why surveys should not conflate sex and gender identity. Int J Soc Res Methodol. (2020) 23:517–24. 10.1080/13645579.2020.1768346 - DOI
1. Sczesny S, Formanowicz M, Moser F. Can gender-fair language reduce gender stereotyping and discrimination? Front Psychol. (2016) 7. 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00025 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. Laguna-Goya N, de Andres-Trelles F. Sex as a variable in medicines assessment reports for licensing in the European Union. Can gender bias be excluded? Eur J Clin Pharmacol. (2014) 70:519–25. 10.1007/s00228-014-1646-5 - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

[1] Botelle R, Connolly D, Walker S, Bewley S. Contemporary and future transmasculine pregnancy and postnatal care in the UK. Practicing Midwife. (2021) 24:8–13.

[2] Botelle R, Connolly D, Walker S, Bewley S. Contemporary and future transmasculine pregnancy and postnatal care in the UK. Practicing Midwife. (2021) 24:8–13.

[3] Bewley S, McCartney M, Meads C, Rogers A. Sex, gender, and medical data. BMJ. (2021) 372:n735. 10.1136/bmj.n735 - DOI - PubMed

[4] Bewley S, McCartney M, Meads C, Rogers A. Sex, gender, and medical data. BMJ. (2021) 372:n735. 10.1136/bmj.n735 - DOI - PubMed

[5] Sullivan A. Sex and the census: why surveys should not conflate sex and gender identity. Int J Soc Res Methodol. (2020) 23:517–24. 10.1080/13645579.2020.1768346 - DOI

[6] Sullivan A. Sex and the census: why surveys should not conflate sex and gender identity. Int J Soc Res Methodol. (2020) 23:517–24. 10.1080/13645579.2020.1768346 - DOI

[7] Sczesny S, Formanowicz M, Moser F. Can gender-fair language reduce gender stereotyping and discrimination? Front Psychol. (2016) 7. 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00025 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[8] Sczesny S, Formanowicz M, Moser F. Can gender-fair language reduce gender stereotyping and discrimination? Front Psychol. (2016) 7. 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00025 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[9] Laguna-Goya N, de Andres-Trelles F. Sex as a variable in medicines assessment reports for licensing in the European Union. Can gender bias be excluded? Eur J Clin Pharmacol. (2014) 70:519–25. 10.1007/s00228-014-1646-5 - DOI - PubMed

[10] Laguna-Goya N, de Andres-Trelles F. Sex as a variable in medicines assessment reports for licensing in the European Union. Can gender bias be excluded? Eur J Clin Pharmacol. (2014) 70:519–25. 10.1007/s00228-014-1646-5 - DOI - PubMed

Save citation to file

Email citation

Add to Collections

Add to My Bibliography

Your saved search

Create a file for external citation management software

Your RSS Feed

Effective Communication About Pregnancy, Birth, Lactation, Breastfeeding and Newborn Care: The Importance of Sexed Language

Affiliations

Effective Communication About Pregnancy, Birth, Lactation, Breastfeeding and Newborn Care: The Importance of Sexed Language

Authors

Affiliations

Conflict of interest statement

Comment in

Similar articles

Cited by

References

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources