Midwife

• As time goes by, new terms are adopted while others are abandoned.
• In midwifery, there should always be a strong emphasis on the language we use, particularly in pregnancy.
• In 2020, the Royal College of Midwives launched an initiative to discover the impact language has on women.

1. Delivery

The term “birth” has now been accepted, rather than the term “delivery”, which has commonly been used in the past. Women and health professionals also wanted accurate, specific descriptions as far as possible to describe what had happened in the labour and birth. For example, “birth with forceps” or “birth with ventouse”. This also includes “caesarean birth”.

2. Low risk / high risk

“Universal care needs” is being used rather than “low risk”. While “additional care needs” is now the preferred term for “high risk”. The word “risk” is associated with uncertainty and it is vital that women feel comfortable and confident during their pregnancy.

3. Normal

• The new preferred term, “spontaneous vaginal birth”, covers spontaneous labour without significant medical interventions such as induction and oxytocin.
• It also covers spontaneous vaginal birth without the need for instruments, such as forceps.

4. Emergency caesarean

The new overarching term for an operative caesarean section is “caesarean birth”. This replaces the word “emergency”, which is a term that may cause alarm. The term “unplanned caesarean birth” is now preferred over “emergency caesarean”.

5. Incompetent cervix

“Incompetent cervix” has connotations of personal failure. So, the preferred term is now “cervical insufficiency”.

6. Failure / failed

• During the Re:Birth project, women were keen to share how terms such as “failure to progress” can contribute to feelings of failure and trauma.
• We can apply the same logic to terms such as “failed induction” or “failed homebirth”.
• “Induction of labour, with delay and followed by operative birth” and “transfer in during planned homebirth” are favoured, respectively.