Your birth is one of the most important experiences in your life. You deserve to be gendered and referred to correctly.
Being misgendered at any time feels distressing, invalidating, and anxiety-inducing. If it happens during your birth -- a time when you already feel vulnerable and in need of support -- the experience can be even more upsetting. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the hospital setting, where multiple people come in and out of your room and shifts change, along with a continued cultural reluctance to learn about, observe, and respect pronouns, the likelihood of being misgendered (either you, your partner(s), and/or support person(s)) is high. In an effort to protect your birthing space, we hope the following strategies can help reduce the chance of being misgendered during your birth experience. Use these following strategies can help reduce the chance of being misgendered during your birth experience.
