LGBTQIA+ people continue to experience discrimination both generally and within healthcare, which can negatively impact on physical and mental health. Stigma and shame about mental health can be a barrier for all parents in accessing support. LGBTQIA+ parents may face additional barriers, including fear of their parenting being scrutinised, fear of homophobia, transphobia and assumptions around gender and sexual orientation. Resources on this page will support health visitors to best care for LGBTQIA+ parents using a trauma-informed, personalised approach that is rooted in an understanding of minority stress.
iHV Resources
📃 Good Practice Points and Parent Tips
Developed in collaboration with topic experts, health visitors, and other professionals, our resources draw on the latest available evidence at the time of publication. Each resource is produced through a robust quality assurance process and peer reviewed to ensure accuracy, relevance, and strong alignment with health visiting practice.
Understanding mental health and wellbeing during the transition to parenthood: LGBTQI+ parents
Good Practice Point
LGBTQI+ People & Perinatal Mental Health Training Programmes
🏷️ Cost: From £260
🕒 Duration: 1 Day
👥 Suitable for: Health Visitors (inc. Specialist Health Visitors), Skill Mix and Multi-agency
External Resources
A collection of e-learning modules, podcasts and screencasts aimed to inform and update all members of the general practice team on particularly important aspects of primary care for LGBT people, to improve both experience and outcomes for our patients. It was produced by the Royal College of General Practitioners with the help of a grant by the Government Equalities Office and with the guidance of the RCGP’s LGBT+ steering group.
🔗 Sexual orientation UK: 2023 (published in January 2025)
Official statistics collated by the Office for National Statistics on sexual orientation in the UK in 2023 by region, sex, age, legal partnership status and ethnic group, using data from the Annual Population Survey (APS).
