FEATURED
Draws criticism from women’s advocacy group
A University of Maryland doctoral student will study “gender minority birthing people” with funding from the National Institutes of Health.
The project, “Longitudinal Mixed Methods Analysis of Risk and Protective Factors Influencing Psychological Distress in Sexual and Gender Minority Birthing People,” seeks to “elucidate how social support and medical care contribute to the mental health trajectories of SGM birthing people throughout the perinatal period.”
Pond Ezra’s project began in February 2026 and will run through at least 2029, according to the NIH website. Ezra uses the honorific “Mx.” and “they” pronouns.
“To accomplish the objective and aims of their proposed research plan, Mx. Ezra will seek out additional training to increase their conceptual, methodological, and dissemination skillsets which will augment their core training in Family Science,” the abstract states. Ezra also studies “seahorse dads,” according to a University of Maryland bio.
“[Ezra’s] training plan combines formal coursework in family and maternal and child health, statistics, one-on-one mentoring, conference presentations, and publishing research to prepare them for a career as an independent researcher,” the abstract states.
It also states LGBT women have different needs than “heterosexual cisgender women” so the study will address the “pressing need” to study these differences and “inform culturally sensitive interventions.”
Ezra did not respond to several emails asking for comment on the term “sexual and gender minority birthing people” and whether the study faced any pushback from the Trump administration.
Following a federal court order blocking Trump’s executive order on gender identity, officials must continue funding LGBTQ health and medical research.
The Fix also contacted the project’s program official Ronna Popkin asking how the NIH hopes to use the findings of this study. She referred The Fix to the agency’s media office. Despite submitting a media request and sending a follow-up email a few days later, the press team did not respond.
However, the Independent Women’s Forum criticized the funding in emailed comments to The College Fix.
Senior Legal Counsel Beth Parlato said “NIH should fund research that improves maternal health, but taxpayer dollars should not be used to embed gender ideology into scientific research.”
She said “pregnancy is a biological reality unique to women, and under an administration committed to restoring biological truth in federal policy, NIH should scrutinize grants that replace clear, scientifically accurate language with ideological terms like ‘birthing people.’”
The use of such terminology conflates “biological sex with sexual orientation and gender identity,” she said, adding doing so ultimately impedes women’s healthcare.
“When researchers erase sex from research about pregnancy and childbirth, they risk obscuring the very biological distinctions that sound medical research depends upon, ultimately making it more difficult to identify and address health outcomes unique to women,” Parlato said.
The Trump administration is also currently funding a study on “rural gender diverse youth,” as The Fix previously reported.
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