Two recent articles highlight some of the ways in which queer and queer-affirming midwives and doulas are helping LGBTQ families. Have a read—and share your own story of using one, if you did!
Rachel Gellert is a “full-spectrum” doula based in Colorado, and was recently profiled by Christina Tesoro at Autostraddle in “‘Just Treat Me Like Any Other Mother’: What Queer-Affirming Doulas Can Provide New LGBT Parents.” Gellert shares how doulas can provide support before, during, and after a person gives birth; what to look for in a queer-affirming doula; and some of the specific ways doulas can help queer families navigate the information, challenges, and even paperwork of a pregnancy and birth.
Simon Adriane Ellis, a midwife at Kaiser Permanente, is a transgender man who does “a lot of work around trans health generally,” including “helping trans men and non-binary people get pregnant and give birth,” writes Nathalie Graham in “Meet the Trans Midwife Changing the World’s ‘Most Gendered Profession’” at The Stranger. Ellis discusses his own path to midwifery, why more research on trans health care is sorely needed, and the progress he’s seen in recent years.
Want more? “How Doulas and Midwives Around the Country Are Filling the Gaps in Birth Care for Queer Families,” by Lindsay King-Miller at Rewire.News last March and “How Can Midwives Help Queer and Trans Families Feel Safe?” by Kathryn Jezer-Morton at Jezebel in 2017 both also looked at how birth workers, queer and not, are learning to support queer families.
When my spouse and I had our son, more than 15 years ago, we didn’t even think to seek out a queer-affirming midwife or doula. I’m sure some existed somewhere, but information about them was not readily found. Now, a quick online search for “queer doula” or “queer midwife” brings up numerous possibilities. I don’t imagine that they’re available everywhere, or accessible to those whose financial means and insurance don’t cover them, but as Ellis confirms, it does seem like there’s been progress. Such progress involves work, of course—but doulas and midwives are experts in labor. I wouldn’t bet against them.
Oh, I look forward to checking out the links in the article! I am a queer doula. I trained through bebo mia and highly recommend it for those who want to be queer inclusive. They also have a course on diverse families.
Oh, that’s great! Thanks for sharing. I’m so glad to see more training on inclusion in so many different fields.