National Coming Out Day!!!

Today is National Coming Out Day! Yay!

Photo of a stethoscope on top of a pride flag.

I had my maternity clinical and ironically enough, I also had my first intersex baby today. I am so fucking grateful to my intersex friends for all of the years they've spent educating me since it made a huge difference in my ability to care for my tiny patient and family. I was able to give the parents plenty of resources and to tell them honestly that I know multiple intersex adults who are happy with their lives. Apparently this meant a lot to the parents, who were clearly struggling with despair and feeling overwhelmed. The mom told me towards the end of the shift that just having me come in and gush over their baby was huge for her. Apparently she had spent this entire time feeling like a failure for having birthed an intersex child so having me come in with a positive attitude telling her how adorable her baby is made her feel like maybe her child wasn't just a mistake. I told her I don't think any child is a mistake. We really need more public awareness about intersex people so that people having children know that having an intersex child is a possibility and that it's not a tragedy.

Cartoon of a white baby with a pacifier holding a stuffed bunny. Text says "Respect Intersex Babies: Don't Mutilate Them."