Midwives told to say ‘partner’ after lesbian repeatedly asked about her ‘fella’
Midwives have been asked to refer to other halves as ‘partner’, after a lesbian couple complained about the term ‘fella’.
The pregnant woman became frustrated after a midwife repeatedly referred to her “fella” during the labour process, despite being in a relationship with a woman.
She’s complained to the hospital after feeling excluded by the term.
Now all midwives in Blackpool have been asked to swap the word “fella” for partner, according to the Blackpool Gazette.
“The midwife hosting the class kept referring to the ‘fella’s role’ during the labour process,” hospital documents revealed.
“The patient is in a same sex relationship and felt this terminology was inappropriate, and that same-sex couples or single mothers could be made to feel uncomfortable.
“The community midwives have been reminded not to use this terminology and to only use the word ‘partner’ in future classes.
“One-to-one parentcraft sessions have also been arranged for the couple as they felt uncomfortable returning to the class.”
Two women from London are currently crowdfunding to pay for their baby by having IVF.
A spokeswoman for Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust apologised for the mistake, and said there was no written guidance for midwives on how to refer to patients other halves.
Guidance by the British Medical Association has previously tried to iron out suck mistakes, saying: “You should avoid references to a person’s gender except where it is relevant in a discussion.”
“For example, use the word ‘partner’ instead of ‘wife’ or ‘husband’, ‘parent’ instead of ‘mum’ or ‘dad’, and ‘child’ instead of ‘son’ or ‘daughter’.
“You can also mix up the word order in common expressions, eg instead of saying, ‘men and women’, use ‘women and men’.”
