Pregnancy and giving birth have long been thought of as things that only women do. It’s true, though, that people of all sex get pregnant and give birth worldwide.
People who study how to be a midwife say that a textbook used to teach students how to help men give birth is full of nonsense about how the human body works.
Trainee nurses at Edinburgh Napier University were told that they might have to care for a “birthing person” who had male sex organs and had a prostate gland.
"Transgender designer is accused of 'child abuse' for selling pants that seek to 'flatten' the genitals of boys as young as four – as doctors warn the underwear could cause infertility."
— David Cole (@DavidColeStein) April 25, 2022
We're literally in the foot-binding phase of trans-madness.https://t.co/EEGD3IR2KN
“It is essential to know that most pregnant people will have female genitalia.”
Module guide: “However, you could be looking after someone pregnant or giving birth, and they may still be male but still have visible male parts.”
If you want to catheterize a woman or a man, you need to know about their bodies. So, the text refers to the person giving the gift whenever possible.
A copy of the book was sent to the Telegraph. It explained the “male anatomy catheterization” method used during cesarean sections to drain extra fluids and graphics on “making sure the scrotal area is covered” during birth.
“Male people should know that the balloon will deflate as it goes past the prostate gland, which is only found in men.”
The Nursing and Midwifery Board approve only three Scottish schools for undergraduate classes in midwifery. One of them reacted angrily to the idea that men can’t get pregnant or give birth.
Experts slammed it on Thursday night. They said it was “open to the point of insanity” and warned that cutting down on procedures could lead to unsafe practices.
So, Kat Barber, a co-founder of the Sex Not Gender Nurses and Midwives group, said, “Women can’t have male genital organs. This rule reads to me as being liberal to the point where it’s silly.
When someone wrote the policy, they tried to include people of different genders, which is fine. The problem is that they didn’t know how to care for people of different genders, which could be dangerous.
When the guidebook was put online late last month, students were outraged. Course directors said they were sorry for “wording getting the wrong way around.”
They said they were talking about a trans man who had surgery to build a penis but still had a womb and could have babies.
There are no changes to the language in the guide. The Telegraph knows that the institution stayed the same on Thursday when they met.
Elaine Miller, a Chartered Society for Physiotherapy member, expressed concern about scientific accuracy even for people who go through phalloplasty to build a penis and want to have a baby.
For the health and well-being of transgender parents-to-be and their families, it’s essential to know where we’ve been and where we need to go to move forward. The more competent the care, the better the pregnant person and their child will be, which everyone should want.
