Peanut Launches New Glossary to Reform Offensive Medical Terms for Moms

The Peanut app, an online community that helps connect moms, has released a glossary of new terms that replace outdated and stigmatized medical terms related to pregnancy and childbirth.

The new glossary is part of Peanut’s Renaming Revolution, announced back in March, which calls out outdated and sexist terminology women experience throughout pregnancy and motherhood.

It was inspired by a video posted to Peanut in which a user talks about her experience with a doctor who told her she, as someone over the age of 35, was a “geriatric” mom. The video quickly went viral and led to support from women everywhere to help destigmatize some of the language used for fertility and motherhood. Chrissy Teigen even commented on the video, saying, “Lol this word is so lame to me, I hate it. Can we change the language here please!! I am so sorry, sending you so much love, you beautiful, strong and courageous woman.”

Peanut asked its community to share outdated and hurtful terms they had experienced and worked with experts to create the new glossary. Some of the words women called out as hurtful include “geritatic pregnancy,” “inhospitable womb,” “spontaneous abortion” and “failure to progress.” The new glossary offers alternative terminology for these, and several others, outdated and offensive medical terms.

“Words matter. Changing the harmful discourse and verbiage that’s become so normalized as a way to describe women’s bodies is long overdue. Peanut’s glossary is the first step in transforming some of the negatively-charged terms that are too often used during the most sensitive and vulnerable times in women’s lives,” Michelle Kennedy, Founder & CEO of Peanut said in a press release. “At Peanut, our mission has always been to facilitate a safe and positive environment for women to share their thoughts and experiences freely and without fear of being judged. With the launch of this glossary, our hope is to take that mission even further and create even more safe spaces for women to connect using language that reflects their experiences without shaming or dehumanizing them.”

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