Self identity as pregnant.

The whole female experience of medical care once puberty hits is that of existing as a [potentially] pregnant individual up until you are [assumed] post-menopausal.

It doesn’t matter why you’re in A&E, you’re getting a pregnancy test. Any kind of imaging? It’s not enough to give the date of your last period & sign to say you’re not pregnant; you have to tell them exactly how you know you’re not pregnant. Medication that might harm a foetus you have no intention of ever conceiving? Completely off the table until there’s no potential risk you’ll get pregnant. Going by your age, rather than the actual probability of you conceiving [& carrying a pregnancy to term], obviously.

If you say “I’m pregnant” or “I think I’m pregnant” to paramedics/EMTs they will treat you accordingly - & then as soon as you get to hospital they will do a blood &/or urine test to confirm. That’s about as far as pregnancy self-ID goes in terms of obtaining healthcare, because everywhere else would get confirmation of pregnancy before providing care.

Self-ID as a pregnant person: a whole new flavour of medical misogyny.

Women don't (and wouldn't be allowed) to just think they may be pregnant or feel that they're pregnant and receive medical treatment without confirmation. Pregnant women receive a range of often invasive and intensive medical care - but it all follows confirmation that a woman is pregnant. Wishing and self identifying doesn't come into it.

That's how it's worked until now, but since health (and other) services are being required to believe and act as if TW literally are women, this is a bit of a worry. There are TW who simulate pregnancies and would be extremely invested in being treated as pregnant by officialdom. If it's essential to accept males as women, it's not a very big leap to accept males who self-identify as pregnant, as pregnant. Nothing would surprise me at this point.

They don't even need to use 'pregnant people' at all. Even if they don't want to say 'women', the message could be something simple like: "If you're pregnant, you can now get your booster shot 8 weeks after your second dose. If you haven't received an invitation yet, call to register"

British Columbia ffs, for once I don't envy Canadians.

In the UK it's self referral. Looking forward to seeing if the language has changed at my hospital / midwife team, going to have some fun if I'm referred to as a pregnant person, bring it ON.

Unbelievable the arrogance of appropriating pregnancy like this and trying to lecture women from such a position of ignorance.

The use of 'self-identify' here is just weird, especially when used in conjunction with 'pregnant people'.

A few years ago it I guess it would have meant something different, but 'self-identify' now basically means to see yourself as something you are objectively not, and pregnancy just doesn't work in that way.

Love to know the exact wording and meaning they used in the other languages?

I think it just means they will take your word that your are pregnant and you won’t need proof of pg to get the booster.

This is just a joke, surely?

My apologies, there were a few more words in there before I hit post. My phone seems to have eaten them!

Self identify as in the old fashioned self refer

Again, apologies. I'd blame the dog, but he is asleep elsewhere

They haven't used self refer.

They used self identify.

They mean different things.

So, just this once, they use the term "self refer" in the old, sensible, understandable manner. But becuase it's in amingst all teh pregnant people shite it just sounds as ludicrous as the rest of the gender ideology bollocks we have to wade through.

Hoist by their own petard!

But still it is women who lose out on sensibly worded medical advice!

If you don't, you may still have native heritage which may be relevant for certain situations.

That being said, it has opened up certain areas to people whose claims are questionable or who probably aren't really the intended beneficiaries of certain programs. I knew an academic for example who had some native ancestry, but he didn't have any real relationship with the culture of that part of his family, but was hired for a post where they were giving preference to people with that background as part of a diversity initiative. He was quite open about the fact that he was using it mainly to give him another advantage in the application (maybe not to the people doing the hiring, though.)

But I agree that when we are so used to self-identification being used in cases where it's counter-factual it seems to weird to hear it in these other instances.

In terms of the use about being pregnant, it almost just sounds like jargon - they've replaces a simple phrase with one that sounds trendy.

I think it means 'identify yourself to the staff that you are pregnant' not, 'you can identify as pregnant to get special treatment'? It's saying you don't need proof/ confirmation if you are early on in the pregnancy.

@ErrolTheDragon
The French I would translate as “identify yourself as pregnant”, which makes an awful lot more sense, really. Because otherwise you’ve got an entire campaign aimed at people experiencing phantom pregnancy; people faking pregnancy; & [?]people who reference their “food babies”* does seem rather niche. And I would have thought that perhaps they might want to run one for, say, women (& other AFAB people) who ARE pregnant. BC is Anglophone though, so it’s not as if it’s one of sorts of these situations. Should say, though, I’m also not absolutely sure if Language Evolves means it DOES - or could - mean self-ID now [in Canada] 🤦🏻‍♀️

*the advert doesn’t specify what one must ID as being pregnant with

You don't have to be a woman to self-identify as a woman, so it stands to reason that you don't have to be pregnant to self-identify as pregnant, therefore resources may be wasted on people who self-identify as pregnant, but are not pregnant.

Words matter.

Maybe it means you don’t need midwife or gp confirmation. You tell them, they accept it to be fact.

This bothered me too. You're either pregnant or you're not. You can't ''self identify'' as pregnant - if you are, you are.

Yes I agree the wording is confusing Well not the wording but how the term self-identify has evolved to me identify as something that doesn't necessarily apply to you.

I think it just means your don’t have to provide proof you are pregnant. Which is good as some women won’t have this until further into their pregnancy.

It means anyone can phone or visit and identify as pregnant. Whether they are male or female. Whether they are biologically capable of being pregnant or not.

It's about the feelz

It's unnecessarily confusing wording (which has issues for those who are less literate and/or don't have English as a first language) for something that should be very very simple. "If you are pregnant, ring this number and..."