The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (ABM) has introduced a language guide for U.S. hospitals that features gender-neutral terminology. One page of the new guide, posted on Twitter by journalist Colin Wright, highlights a few examples of the new guidance. “Father’s milk,” Wright captioned his tweet, referring to one of the new terms featured in the guide.
This document was sent to me by a friend whose wife is a hospital nurse for new moms and their babies,” Wright reportedly told The Post Millennial. “He said this new ‘inclusive terminology’ is being implemented at her hospital, and that nurses and other health professionals are being required to ask each patient what terms they wish to have used when discussing their care.”
The screenshotted page posted by Wright showcases a table in the new guide titled “Suggested Terms in Breastfeeding and Human Lactation.” There are three columns, one called “traditional terms,” one labeled “gender-inclusive terms,” and the final column titled “clinical contexts.”
Provided as an example, “traditional terms” such as “mother” and “father” should be changed to the gender-neutral “parent,” according to the new guide table. Hospitals are also encouraged to use “they/them” pronouns if the gender of the patient is not immediately known, the guidance says.
In a line below those suggestions is the traditional term “breast milk,” which the guide suggests should be called just “milk,” “parent’s milk,” or even “father’s milk.” In Wright’s screenshot, he underlined “father’s milk” with a red line for emphasis. Under the “clinical context” column on the table, hospitals are instructed to “ask a patient for their affirmed terminology.” READ MORE
