As a doula, I have supported the pregnancies, births and early postnatal days of a whole variety of families. I've seen first hand how good, respectful care can protect a pregnant person and their family, even in the worst of circumstances. I've also seen how poor care can lead to traumatic births.
As a researcher, I have been having a look at what we actually know about queer birth and traumatic birth, and the answer so far is 'not a lot'. We know that pregnant trans men and lesbian couples do sometimes experience poor care linked to the fact they are Queer - whether that's outright homophobia or transphobia, or whether it comes from a lack of knowledge or experience in providing care to pregnant LGBT+ people. But there are - so far - no studies looking specifically at how this difference in care may impact birth trauma. Here is an academic article I've written, highlighting just how much we don't know about the experiences of LGBT+ people giving birth.
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