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Karleen Gribble @drkarleeng.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

Are newborns blank slates? Does it matter to them from whose oocyte they are conceived or who gestated and birthed them? Using research from adoption, donor conception and surrogacy this paper argues for considering the child's experience in surrogacy language. www.frontiersin.org/journals/glo...

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Karleen Gribble @drkarleeng.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

New paper with Melissa Bartick and @jpsmith1.bsky.social on breastfeeding, breast pumping and "human milk feeding." We call for support for breastfeeding and not just providing expressed breastmilk, preservation of "breastfeeding" as a term, and breast pumps to be added into the WHO Code scope.

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Reposted by Karleen Gribble

Quillette @quillette.bsky.social · 10/10/2025

Managing Editor Iona Italia talks to Dr Karleen Gribble, who works in the field of maternal and infant health, on the impacts of desexed language on women’s healthcare and wellbeing.

quillette.com

Podcast #306: Desexing the Language of Motherhood

Managing Editor Iona Italia talks to Dr Karleen Gribble, who works in the field of maternal and infant health, on the impacts of desexed language on women’s healthcare and wellbeing.

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Karleen Gribble @drkarleeng.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

My new paper argues it is time to ditch “gender” except in relation to “gender identity.” "The use of “gender” to refer to sex, the social expectations of the sexes, and gender identity... is hampering important discussions...with real-world implications." link.springer.com/article/10.1...

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Reposted by Karleen Gribble

International Confederation of Midwives @internationalmidwives.org · 29/04/2025

🌍 This #ResourceTuesday, we're spotlighting ICM's position on The Role of Midwives in Humanitarian Crises. In line with #IDM2025—Midwives: Critical in Every Crisis—this resource calls for midwives to be central to emergency response & preparedness efforts. 📄 Learn more: zurl.co/4PtGK

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Karleen Gribble @drkarleeng.bsky.social · 05/05/2025

I believe that birth certificates should record biological parentage. This Australian (NSW) example illustrates one reason why this is important- a married couple discover they share a father. There are many such examples and it is a common worry of people who are donor conceived or adopted.

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Karleen Gribble @drkarleeng.bsky.social · 03/05/2025

No problem, I will leave the discussion as is.

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Karleen Gribble @drkarleeng.bsky.social · 03/05/2025

It's not that straightforward. I would encourage you to speak to your GP about it.

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Karleen Gribble @drkarleeng.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

This is simply not the case. Hormone treatment does alter normal ranges for some measures (although these should still be considered in relation to the person's sex, ie a male taking oestrogen or a female testosterone). But there are also many other considerations.

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Karleen Gribble @drkarleeng.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

Inaccurate recording of sex in health records is a risk for misdiagnosis, missed diagnosis delayed diagnosis, and improper treatment. Trans advocacy organisations should be informing people of this but are not. It calls into question their competence and/or intent.

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Karleen Gribble @drkarleeng.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

Accurate sex data is important for research but also for individuals, especially in health care. I would encourage you to ensure accuracy of your sex in your health record.

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Karleen Gribble @drkarleeng.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

We need data on sex and gender identity to get a picture of people experiences.

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Karleen Gribble @drkarleeng.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

It's not just about compensation. Of course, you are free to have the views you have.

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Karleen Gribble @drkarleeng.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

Well, there I disagree. In many situations sex is important and needs to be paid attention to irrespective of how people understand themselves.

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Karleen Gribble @drkarleeng.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

No, it wouldn't say anything about gay men having children because the paper is about women't reproductive rights. And we have no opinion on whether women should have children, that is for them. The paper is advocating for the rights of women who do have children.

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Karleen Gribble @drkarleeng.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

That is not what it says at all. The review is about data collection and ensuring that appropriate and accurate data is collected. Without that data nothing about the lives of trans people in relation to their sex can be known.

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Karleen Gribble @drkarleeng.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

I never said it was the only important difference underlying inequality.

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Karleen Gribble @drkarleeng.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

For reference, that's called formal equality.

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Karleen Gribble @drkarleeng.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

I suggest you read my paper that I shared earlier.

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Karleen Gribble @drkarleeng.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

If you mean that men and women should be treated the same, this will disadvantage women, especially those who are mothers.

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Karleen Gribble @drkarleeng.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

Why wouldn't I be supportive of this!

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Karleen Gribble @drkarleeng.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

The fact is that if women have children this impacts their life greatly. And I've talked about choice, already said. I'm not the one saying that women should seek to escape sexism by now having children. I am advocating for motherhood not to be so costly for women.

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Karleen Gribble @drkarleeng.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

I am unsure if you realise how sexist it is...

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Karleen Gribble @drkarleeng.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

Yes if women live lives more like men they face less sexism but that is not a solution.

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Karleen Gribble @drkarleeng.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

Indeed I disagree. You are saying that sexism can be stopped if women simply cease having babies.

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Karleen Gribble @drkarleeng.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

I never said anything of the sort. What I said was that it is women what have the capacity for conceiving, gestating, birthing and breastfeeding babies and this needs to be addressed for equality for women to be achieved.

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Karleen Gribble @drkarleeng.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

Sorry, that's a really strange question. Did you miss what I said about reproductive rights? Are you familiar with the Cairo Declaration? If not I would suggest it is worth a read.

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Karleen Gribble @drkarleeng.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

Nah again, it's just biology that it is women who conceive, gestate, birth and breastfeed babies. It is impossible to deny.

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Karleen Gribble @drkarleeng.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

Nah, just based in human biology and women and children's rights.

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Karleen Gribble @drkarleeng.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

It can't be abolished as it is rooted in the body. Furthermore, women's right to control their fertility also includes having children and breastfeeding them. True feminism advocates for women not to be disadvantaged by motherhood.

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Karleen Gribble @drkarleeng.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

You have zoomed off into a different conversation entirely. In fact, the goal should be substantive equality that accounts for sex difference.

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Karleen Gribble @drkarleeng.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

It's just reality that women have female bodies. It doesn't mean that all will become pregnant but all have bodies that are built around that capacity. And those women are the ones who face the most disadvantage because women's reproductive work is not properly recognised or accounted for.

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Karleen Gribble @drkarleeng.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

Using such terminology is indeed sexist. But I did not use those words.

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Karleen Gribble @drkarleeng.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

It cannot be removed because it is materially relevant in ways that cannot be avoided. Humans are sexually dimorphic and our bodies are built around the capacity to conceive, gestate, birth and breastfeed infants or not. Seeking to ignore this, severely disadvantages women.

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Karleen Gribble @drkarleeng.bsky.social · 28/04/2025