British Hospital Becomes First To Introduce New Trans-Friendly Terminology

The idea has already been turned into standard policy at Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust in order to 'reflect the gender identity of the individual'.

The hospital will now use terms such as 'chestfeeding' instead of breastfeeding, while breastmilk is now referred to as either 'human milk' or 'chest milk', and mother will now phrased as 'birthing parent'.

It's all designed to ensure people who are transgender are not inadvertently excluded from conversations through the use of gendered language.

The hospital trust is keen to see how the new language policy plays out.

"At BSUH we acknowledge the additional challenges that gender identity can have on pregnancy, birth and infant feeding. We recognise the importance of providing inclusive, respectful perinatal care to all pregnant people and their families," a statement said.

"We are proud to care for trans and non-binary (including agender, bigender and genderqueer) people as birthing parents and co-parents, and to celebrate and affirm their journey to parenthood."

Many people welcomed the move.

One Twitter user replied to the hospital's post on the subject, saying: "So wonderful, thank you for being allies!"

Another supporter commented: "Really saddened by the amount of people commenting who supposedly identify as feminists yet take issue with this. @BSUH_maternity keep up the phenomenal work - persevering for a progressive & inclusive NHS. Such important & valuable work. Us real feminists are overjoyed."

The hospital confirmed the policy was brought in after serious and lengthy consideration.

"Our approach has been carefully considered to be inclusive of trans & non-binary birthing people without excluding the language of women or motherhood," representatives wrote in a statement.