LGBT Foundation are proud to announce that we are a partner in a new research project called ITEMS - Improving Trans Experiences of Maternity Services. This project, funded by NHS England, will run for 6 months and will curate existing evidence and collect new evidence to see how maternity services can be improved to meet the needs of trans birthing parents.

Trans men and non-binary people often report challenges in navigating maternity services, whether this is due to the highly gendered language used within these spaces, or to the common occurrences of personal misgendering by maternity service professionals. Additionally, there are also instances where maternity service professionals may not have had opportunities for training, and may not have even considered that trans men and non-binary people may want to become pregnant.

We are bringing together the National LGB&T Partnership, LGBT Foundation, the Trans Learning Partnership, various members of the Health and Wellbeing Alliance, and trans men and non-binary people with lived experience. In doing so, we hope to amplify a diverse range of voices, and generate discussions across the public health and charity sectors.

Dr Michael Brady, National Advisor for LGBT Health, says:

‘This important project will help to ensure that trans men and non-binary people have a positive experience when accessing NHS maternity services. We look forward to working together with the LGBT Foundation, National LGB&T Partnership and Health and Wellbeing Alliance partners to build on the existing evidence, and engage with trans men and non-binary people and those working in maternity, to improve understanding and inform the delivery of maternity care that is personalised and trans-inclusive.’

ITEMS is currently in the initiation phase, but as a part of the project we will be carrying out focus groups and interviews in partnership with our Health and Wellbeing Alliance partners. If you are a trans man or non-binary person who has experienced accessing maternity services in any way and are interested in attending any of the focus groups, please email [email protected] to be added onto a mailing list.