BCAPOP Member-Only Perinatal Community of Practice: What is Sexual Health? Going Beyond Taboos to Support Perinatal Clients

Sexual health is often misunderstood and highly stigmatized. However, at its core, it is about understanding our health and having the skills, knowledge, and behaviours to maintain good sexual, reproductive, and overall health across the lifespan.                               

In this presentation, we will explore what sexual health is, and why it continues to be important to practice when working with clients who are pregnant, or recently postpartum. This presentation will cover a range of topics including contraception, maternity care, and violence prevention and how perinatal professionals can use key approaches like trauma-informed practice and harm reduction to support the wellbeing of clients.

The learning objectives for this presentation are:

• To develop a greater understanding of what sexual health and its impacts on physical, emotional, and relational health and wellbeing;
• To increase perinatal professional confidence in discussing sexual health with clients in the perinatal period; and,
• To apply existing strategies, like trauma-informed practice and harm reduction, in the provision of sexual health.

Lindsay Wolfson is a public health researcher, sexual health educator, and consultant. She is the Research Manager at the Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health and holds a Master of Public Health, Social Inequities and Health, from Simon Fraser University. Lindsay has worked in Canada and internationally on a broad range of women’s health issues. She has over 10 years of experience working in anti-violence, anti-trafficking, substance use, chronic pain, sexual health, and women’s health policy and practice. Lindsay lives with chronic pain and is pursuing a Master of Social Work at Wilfrid Laurier University, with the hopes of working with clients who live with pain after she graduates.