Attitudes of Midwives Towards Lesbians: Results From a Systematic Review of Literature on Midwives’ Attitudes Towards Sexual and Gender Minority People

Jennifer M. Goldberg, RM, MPH; Lori E. Ross, PhD

ABSTRACT

Midwives are positioned to play a crucial role in the health experiences of sexual and gender minority people, who often avoid accessing care due to previous or anticipated negative health encounters. Canadian provincial, territorial, and national regulatory entities hold midwives accountable to the provision of inclusive and safe midwifery care to all. A broad, systematic search of literature examining midwives’ attitudes towards sexual and gender minority people and published from 2005 to 2020 included MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Sociological Abstracts, Sexual Diversity Studies, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, PsychLIT, and Cochrane Library. English-language studies that were relevant to midwives’ attitudes towards sexual and gender minorities were eligible for inclusion. Of 623 articles retrieved,five primary studies met inclusion criteria but examined midwives’ attitudes exclusively towards lesbians. Positive and caring midwives’ attitudes contributed to creating a safe and supportive space for lesbians, even if the midwives didn’t have specific training or education regarding how to care for them. Midwives’ negative attitudes contributed to lesbians’ experiences of homophobia and heterosexism. Further research on midwives’ attitudes towards all sexual and gender minorities is needed, especially in the Canadian context, demonstrated by the importance midwives’ attitudes have in shaping the experiences of lesbians in midwifery care.

KEYWORDS

midwives, attitudes, lesbian, sexual and gender minorities, LGBTQ

This article has been peer reviewed.

Attitudes of Midwives Towards Lesbians: Systemic Review (930 KB)

Download article