Work

Should Mother Baby Units be renamed Parent Baby Units? A critical reflection on gendered language in perinatal psychiatry

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: Mother Baby Units provide mental health care to parents experiencing severe perinatal mental illness. The majority of admitted parents identify as mothers and are the birthing parent and primary caregiver for their infants. However, there is increasing recognition of transgender and gender diverse people who birth and parent infants, as well as awareness of the mental health needs of fathers, people in same-sex relationships, and other non-birthing parents. As such there are moves to use ungendered language for health services including renaming these units as Parent Baby Units. This paper explores this debate, critically reflecting on emergent tensions. CONCLUSION: Movements towards, and resistance against, changing language in perinatal mental health care are attempts to ensure the visibility of groups within mainstream services. Whether to adopt new terminology is a complex question. But ensuring MBUs meet the needs of people who require them should remain paramount.

Source: Australasian Psychiatry

DOI: 10.1177/10398562241273069

Author: Sophie Isobel

Institution: The University of Sydney

Language: English

Topic: Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum

Subfield: Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Gender equality, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,950