LGBTQIA2+ Policy Statement
Research by The Williams Institute in 2011 estimates there are 9 million people in the United States who self-identify as LGBTQIA2+: lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, genderqueer, questioning, intersex, asexual, two-spirited, and others who have gender identities and/or sexual orientations that differ from heterosexual and/or cisgender. Additional research reveals that serious health disparities exist between LGBTQIA2+ populations and cisgender and heterosexual populations.
LGBTQIA2+ people who experience barriers to accessing and receiving health care identify those barriers to include the intersectionality of issues and personal concerns regarding racism, homophobia, transphobia, gender, misogyny, education, literacy, income, and economic class.
LGBTQIA2+ people seeking midwifery care may have already accumulated the experience and effects of micro-aggression and marginalization. As midwives, we are responsible for providing culturally appropriate midwifery care to the people we serve. Providing competent midwifery care for LGBTQIA2+ people requires a midwife to be aware, sensitive, informed, and prepared to respond without unintentionally or unconsciously inflicting additional harm.
For LGBTQIA2+ people seeking to become midwives, barriers in accessing midwifery education may include the same bias, prejudice, and micro-aggression they have encountered throughout their lifetimes, but with the added impact of limiting choice of career path. The lack of LGBTQIA2+ midwives impacts consumer access to choice of care provider and diminishes the wealth of experience and knowledge within the professional midwifery community. LGBTQIA2+ midwives continue to experience bias and prejudice from professional colleagues, just as LGBTQIA2+ student midwives may also experience bias and disregard from individuals within the professional midwifery community.
As an institution, the Program Directors, Administrators and Faculty of National Midwifery Institute, Inc. adopt the following statement, and urge all midwifery and student midwife communities to consider, support, and integrate these principles into their practices:
In support of families, birthing women, and birthing people, we affirm that:
We know that our personal perspectives are limited by our own experience.
We will commit time and attention to listen to individuals and avoid making assumptions.
We seek to dismantle and neutralize stereotypes.
We accept and protect the personal rights of people to determine for themselves and express their gender, sexual preference, sexuality, and family structure.
We believe humans are best served through kindness and consideration.
We will work to preserve the personal privacy and autonomy of gestating, pregnant, birthing, postpartum, and parenting people.
We support the expansion of the midwifery profession to fully include, respect, and acknowledge the existence and contributions of LGBTQIA2+ midwives and student midwives.
We further affirm that the institutional tone of NMI, as expressed through the behavior of Program Directors, Administrators and Academic Faculty, is one of complete acceptance of diversity as regards human gender and sexual identity, expression, and experience, and pledge to support and protect our peers and students who encounter dismissive, devaluing attitudes and treatment.
Resource Links:
Understanding the Health Needs of LGBT People - March 2016 publication by the National LGBT Education Center, a program of the Fenway Institute
LGBT Health Disparities - May 2013 publication by the APA Public Interest Government Relations Office
Improving the Health Care of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People: Understanding and Eliminating Health Disparities - publication by the National LGBT Education Center, a program of the Fenway Institute
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Health - publication by healthypeople.gov, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
"Like Walking Through a Hailstorm": Discrimination Against LGBT Youth in US Schools - 2016 Human Rights Watch publication
The Root of All Cruelty? - Paul Bloom - The New Yorker, November 2017
