Beyond a Gestating Body: Transmasculine Pregnancy Experiences in the Brazilian Unified Health System
1
Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Saúde Coletiva, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitória, Brazil
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Pregnancy, labor and the puerperium, commonly associated with femininity, remain structured by a cis-heteronormative logic that renders transmasculine and non-binary people invisible. Although physiologically capable of gestating, these subjects face inequities in access to and assurance of reproductive rights, being exposed to the reproduction of institutional violence and inequalities. Understanding transmasculine pregnancy experiences requires recognizing the structural barriers that limit access to and quality of care. Grounded in the theoretical framework of Institutional Analysis Socioanalytic, this study discusses the experiences of transmasculine people in the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) during pregnancy, labor and the puerperium.
METHODS:
This abstract derives from a Collective Health dissertation at the Federal University of Espírito Santo (UFES), conducted between 2023 and 2025. It is a qualitative study based on Institutional Analysis in its Socioanalytic strand1, carried out with five transmasculine and/or non-binary participants who experienced the pregnancy-puerperal cycle after gender reaffirmation. Projective interviews were conducted via Google Meet and fully transcribed.
RESULTS:
Interactions with SUS services revealed transphobia and obstetric violence as crossings that compromised comprehensiveness and equity in reproductive care. Participants reported delegitimization of gender identity, disrespect for social name, restrictions on movement, and repeated vaginal examinations during labor. These analyzers, embedded in norms and routines, created difficulties scheduling prenatal appointments due to the gender recorded in systems, reinforcing the symbolic exclusion of this population. Nonetheless, isolated experiences of welcoming and recognition of gender identity indicate the potentialities for building more ethical, sensitive practices committed to diversity.
CONCLUSIONS:
Promoting health equity requires transforming institutional practices and values that continue to reproduce exclusions. Recognizing transmasculine pregnancies as legitimate experiences broadens the horizon for inclusive policies and for ethical, plural, and socially fair within the SUS.
Pregnancy, labor and the puerperium, commonly associated with femininity, remain structured by a cis-heteronormative logic that renders transmasculine and non-binary people invisible. Although physiologically capable of gestating, these subjects face inequities in access to and assurance of reproductive rights, being exposed to the reproduction of institutional violence and inequalities. Understanding transmasculine pregnancy experiences requires recognizing the structural barriers that limit access to and quality of care. Grounded in the theoretical framework of Institutional Analysis Socioanalytic, this study discusses the experiences of transmasculine people in the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) during pregnancy, labor and the puerperium.
METHODS:
This abstract derives from a Collective Health dissertation at the Federal University of Espírito Santo (UFES), conducted between 2023 and 2025. It is a qualitative study based on Institutional Analysis in its Socioanalytic strand1, carried out with five transmasculine and/or non-binary participants who experienced the pregnancy-puerperal cycle after gender reaffirmation. Projective interviews were conducted via Google Meet and fully transcribed.
RESULTS:
Interactions with SUS services revealed transphobia and obstetric violence as crossings that compromised comprehensiveness and equity in reproductive care. Participants reported delegitimization of gender identity, disrespect for social name, restrictions on movement, and repeated vaginal examinations during labor. These analyzers, embedded in norms and routines, created difficulties scheduling prenatal appointments due to the gender recorded in systems, reinforcing the symbolic exclusion of this population. Nonetheless, isolated experiences of welcoming and recognition of gender identity indicate the potentialities for building more ethical, sensitive practices committed to diversity.
CONCLUSIONS:
Promoting health equity requires transforming institutional practices and values that continue to reproduce exclusions. Recognizing transmasculine pregnancies as legitimate experiences broadens the horizon for inclusive policies and for ethical, plural, and socially fair within the SUS.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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