RAINBOW CARE

rainbow realities

Birth for Every Body, an open community forum aimed at gaining insight into the childbearing experiences of LGBTTQIA++ communities, was held at Hutt Hospital in December 2020.

Right: Andre Afamasaga, New Zealand Human Rights Commission Senior Advisor. Far Right: Dr Elizabeth Kerekere, activist and expert on rainbow and human rights.

The forum, organised by a taskforce comprised of Hutt Valley and Capital & Coast DHB staff, LMCs, midwifery students and consumer representatives, was attended by over 80 people in person and an equal number of virtual participants.

Midwife and lactation consultant, Penny Wyatt, was part of the taskforce and explains the impetus for the event. “There is growing awareness of the reproductive rights of our rainbow and takatāpui families, and a drive to better understand and meet their needs within our services,” she says.

With a full programme of presenters sharing both personal and professional perspectives on the day, attendees were no doubt unpacking the thought-provoking content long after the event. Dr Elizabeth Kerekere, an activist and expert on rainbow and human rights addressed the needs of takatāpui, proposing kaupapa Māori frameworks as a means of better supporting rainbow communities.

New Zealand Human Rights Commission Senior Advisor Andre Afamasaga shared his personal coming-out journey, as well as the work he is doing on inclusion of LGBTTQIA++ people within the church.

Mani Mitchell, the first person to come out in Aotearoa as an intersex person, facilitated the event, and other key speakers included Val Little (Programme Manager - Rainbow Tick) and Jelly O’Shea (Communications and Project Manager at the Intersex Trust Aotearoa NZ).

Penny says the most powerful aspect of the forum, however, was the personal stories shared by parents. The anecdotes, contributed by a gay man, two lesbian couples and a trans man, collectively explored experiences of fertility treatments, surrogacy and adoption, conceptions, miscarriages, and finally, the successful creation of their families in Aotearoa. “The stories were heartfelt and very moving,” she says. Under the leadership of Hutt Valley DHB Director of Midwifery Karen Ferraccioli, the taskforce is now organising a conference, to be held 26 November 2021, which will focus on empowerment and body positivity in pregnancy.

For more information, or to get involved, contact Karen Ferraccioli: Karen.Ferraccioli@huttvalleydhb.org.nz. square

college activities on rainbow inclusive care

The College is currently developing a consensus statement on rainbow inclusive midwifery care with input from midwives Dr Jeanie Douche and Dr George Parker. College advisors recently participated in a workshop exploring rainbow identities, health and mental health disparities, birthing realities and inclusive midwifery care. We sincerely thank Dr George Parker for their generosity and expertise in facilitating the workshop. As a result, the College will be implementing some of the lessons from the workshop at national office level and expanding the College’s education programme to include rainbow inclusive midwifery practice. The College recognises the need for a consensus statement on cultural safety and this is also currently in development.

REGISTRATION FOR MIDWIFERY CARE The College has worked with MMPO to advocate for seamless registration and claiming for midwives caring for pregnant trans and non-binary people. The Ministry advises that under the current business rules, the NHI is automatically checked to confirm it is a 'valid female NHI', therefore when it comes up as other than female (unidentified/male), the registration is rejected. A short-term solution has been agreed upon and a permanent solution will follow.

Short term / When MMPO receives automatic claim rejections for each module, the staff will liaise directly with the Ministry to manually override this and process the claim.

Permanent solution / The Ministry has revised its business rules so that the automated process simply checks that the registration is for a 'valid NHI', not a 'valid female NHI'. This change will come into effect when the new Section 88 Notice is gazetted. The slated timeframe for this is September 2021.

If midwives have any questions about care for members of the rainbow community or experience any issues relating to IT systems when registering a non-binary person or trans man for midwifery care, the College advisors are available to assist by emailing liaison@nzcom.org.nz. square