NHS Bosses Have Blocked Health Advice For Pregnant Trans People For Almost A Year

The NHS has conducted research to better understand the problems faced by trans men and people who identify as neither male or female when expecting a baby.

The NHS website has been "banned" from posting advice and information for pregnant transgender and nonbinary people, i news has revealed.

The findings informed a number of online pages offering help and resources to patients which, despite their completion, have not been able to be published on the NHS website for almost a year, an NHS whistleblower told the i newspaper. They believe this is due to anti-trans views in parts of NHS England management.

nhs.uk staff, expecting to release the information, which could have helped the public, were so concerned at not being able to do so that they held an internal online discussion of the matter, according to Latest Page News.

A screenshot of the conversation that was leaked revealed a manager said: “I’m waiting to see if anyone spills the beans on the seniors who are blocking our trans pregnancy content section, which has been waiting too long to be published.” A second senior staffer added: “We have produced a number of pages for [the website.] However, the transgender community related to pregnancy have blocked it for almost a year."

The whistleblower, who is not one of those people, said: “We publish information about all sorts of health conditions, we have a large pregnancy range and it would never take a year or that long for things to be through. This was an extensive research project, speaking to a whole range of people – of different genders – to understand their user needs.”

Trans men and nonbinary people who become pregnant can face a variety of different medical and social issues during conception, pregnancy and childbirth. But according to a 2022 LGBT Foundation study, 30% “did not seek perinatal care during pregnancy” for fear of the treatment they might receive. Of those who received medical care during labor, 28% said they “were not treated with dignity and respect during labor and delivery.” A higher proportion of home births, which can carry greater risks than hospital births, have also been reported.

“I find it disgusting that even the provision of information is blocked,” said the whistleblower. “The NHS is for everyone. If this content is not developed in the same way as other content, then it is discriminatory and dangerous – people can die.”

There is currently no advice for trans men conceiving on nhs.uk. The website is used by both patients and staff.

“Its absence from the NHS website builds and reinforces any bias that professionals will have because they look at the NHS website, which is representative of what they see as high leadership and when it’s not there broadcasts it other messages they don’t is an important matter,” the whistleblower said.

Responding to the allegations, an NHS spokesman said: “The NHS is for everyone, regardless of gender. The guidance on the nhs.uk website is regularly reviewed and updated by doctors.”

Freddy McConnell, who made a documentary called Seahorse: The father who gave birth about his experiences with pregnancy and childbirth as a trans man that the decision not to publish the online content prevents the public from accessing important health information.

He said: “It’s so upsetting because people like me who were born in the NHS and are trans or nonbinary aren’t often represented and included in the thinking. It would be so easy to talk to us and give advice. I naively thought the NHS lacked the money or awareness to even get the job done. To hear that the job actually got done and then just someone or a bunch of people blocking it is pretty devastating.”

“Most people in the NHS just want to care about people and take an evidence-based approach to helping [pregnancy and birthing] experiences as safe as possible. But then there are people who do such things ideologically [blocking information] to protect it from often very vulnerable individuals and families. Health professionals want that advice, too. What is the clinical justification for withholding this information?”

McConnell described some of the particular problems associated with this minority in pregnancy: trans men need advice on stopping testosterone treatment and feeding the baby, depending on whether they have had surgery and – if they are taking testosterone for a long time they may have vaginal atrophy – which needs to be considered before birth.

“Trans people are more likely to delay accessing health care when they realize they are pregnant or even when they are thinking about starting a family,” he added.

While his own experiences with NHS workers have been largely positive, if the advice were made public, trans people could be assured of “a warm, knowledgeable welcome, so that they would not be met with surprise or shock, or possibly even disgust and condemnation.”

McConnell recounted an incident: “I was met with suspicion and aggression by a hospital worker – a nurse who confronted me in a busy waiting room and said, ‘I want to know what you’re doing here,’ because she was doing it.” [They] didn’t realize I could have been pregnant myself and there for a scan.”

The need for this information is great, according to Paul Martin, CEO of the LGBT Foundation, who published his own report on the subject last month. “Everyone deserves access to the absolute best possible services,” he said.

“The recommendations in the report go a long way toward improving future services for transgender and nonbinary pregnant [people]. One of the most important things we keep emphasizing is that we don’t demand that moms stop being called moms – that’s how the press categorizes it, but it’s not. The point is that professionals should consider being more inclusive in their practice. That is all we ask.”

The row comes amid increased rhetoric towards transgender people within the government. Trans people are exempt from the forthcoming ban on conversion therapy. Boris Johnson said trans women should not participate in women’s sporting events. Sajid Javid, the health secretary, said last year it was a “denial of scientific fact” to say that not only women can have a cervix. However, UK law recognizes transgender men who can keep their cervix and become pregnant as men.

Last month, Javid announced an inquiry into gender services for under 18s, saying NHS gender identification clinics are “verging on the ideological” and “overly positive.” According to the NHS, the waiting time for benefits is 5 years. People now getting their first appointment at a gender identity clinic were referred in 2017.

Earlier this week, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) announced that it will include transgender and nonbinary people in its guidelines for diagnosing and treating menopause for the first time, amid a shortage of HRT. Nice will examine inequalities in the current system and consider whether to make new treatment recommendations.

Read related myGwork articles here:

NHS To Face Fresh Legal Challenge Over Trans Healthcare Delays: “Too Many People Have Died Waiting”

Trans People Waiting Years For Gender Healthcare As Demand Surges

NHS Is “Failing” Trans Men And Non-Binary People, Sajid Javid Warned: “It’s A Nightmare”

UK Trans Teen In Legal Action Over NHS Gender Clinic Delay