This Pride Month, MIDIRS is spotlighting the wealth of LGBTQ+ midwifery research available on our MIC database.
As part of our commitment to inclusivity we are proud to release a free, curated Search Pack on LGBTQ+ parenting, offering a wide range of literature that celebrates and explores the diverse experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals and families within the midwifery world.
Whether you’re looking to deepen your understanding, inform your practice, or simply broaden your perspective, the LGBTQ+ parenting Search Pack is designed to support maternity professionals in their progression. At MIDIRS, we embed inclusivity into everything we do, year-round. From the MIDIRS Midwifery Digest to our comprehensive MIC database, we’re committed to amplifying voices across all communities and providing access to research that supports improved maternity care for everyone.
We recognise that families come in many forms and that every path to parenthood is unique. As an organisation rooted in evidence-based practice and inclusive values, we are dedicated to ensuring midwives, student midwives and maternity support workers have access to research that reflects the full spectrum of parenting experiences. This informs our mission to learn, share, and improve midwifery care.
Explore the free LGBTQ+ parenting Search Pack now, and if you’d like to access even more resources, a MIDIRS subscription allows full access to the MIC database.
Plus, take a look back at articles discussing LGBTQ+ parenting that have featured in past issues of MIDIRS Digest:
‘Challenging the heteronormativity of maternity services: a narrative literature review’ Sarah Lewis-Tulett, Tania McIntosh (June 2018)
This literature review provides a critical perspective of sexuality and the way in which sexual identity manifests itself within maternity service delivery. It focuses on the impact of midwives’ understanding of lesbian women’s needs, leading to a demonstration of how lesbian women can be more effectively integrated within the current provision of maternity services.
‘The role of the midwife in sexual health: focus on same-sex couples’ Anne-Marie Ablett (December 2018)
Pregnancy is a time when a mother may welcome health promotion information because her own health affects that of her baby. Through recognising pregnancy as an opportunity to discuss sexual health, midwives could potentially play a significant role in improving the sexual health of mothers in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) community. This paper will explore the role of the midwife in the sexual health of same-sex couples through defining sexual health, discussing key government documents, relevant literature and research, and suggesting recommendations for practice. Where examples from practice have been used, confidentiality has been maintained in accordance with the Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC 2015).
‘A systematic literature review to establish the current evidence on the impact of continuity of care for the LGBTQ+ community’ Nic Ferguson (June 2024)
It is the intention of the author to highlight disparities faced by the LGBTQ+ community in maternity settings. The author takes an additive approach to language used in health care settings, research, guidance and policy, in order to improve access and reduce barriers for the LGBTQ+ community, using the terms ‘woman’ and ‘birthing people’ throughout.
Background: Maternity services are currently delivered in a heteronormative system, which imposes structural barriers to care on the LGBTQ+ community. Lack of access to appropriate services and lack of cultural competency training for health care staff can result
in suboptimal experiences. Continuity of care (CoC) is an evidence-based approach that is known to reduce intervention and improve satisfaction, although little is known about how CoC can improve experiences for LGBTQ+ people and other minority groups.
Aim: To establish the current evidence on the impact of CoC for the LGBTQ+ community.
To read these papers in full, plus hundreds more midwifery-related articles, subscribe to MIDIRS and access our full MIC database, as well as our quarterly Digest.
