A health official in the United Kingdom claimed that breast milk from biological males who “transitioned” to live as women is just as healthy as breast milk from a female who has given birth.
The Telegraph reported this week that a leaked letter from a University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust medical director claims that breast milk produced by “trans women” as a result of taking so-called “gender-affirming” drugs is “comparable to that produced [by a mother] following the birth of a baby.”
The hospital uses “woke” gender-neutral language like “chestfeeding” and “human milk” instead of “breastfeeding” and “breastmilk.”
The letter reportedly outlined how trans women can produce breast milk through “induced lactation” (via the New York Post):
The hospital, which claims it was the first to use the gender-inclusive term “chestfeeding,” explained that transgender women can develop lactation partly by taking the hormone progestin, which helps develop a biological male’s already existent but typically dormant milk-producing glands.
Drugs such as domperidone, which is often given to biological women struggling to breastfeed, then help stimulate the production of prolactin, a separate hormone that tells the body to produce milk.
While domperidone, also known by the brand name Motilium, was not intended for this use, USHT said the practice is safe, even though the medication could be transferred to the baby through breastfeeding and has the potential to affect the baby’s heart.
Lottie Moore, who works at the think tank Policy Exchange, told The Telegraph that the letter is “unbalanced” and “naïve in its assertion that the secretions produced by a male on hormones can nourish an infant in the way a mother’s breast milk can.”
“A child’s welfare must always take precedence over identity politics and contested belief systems that are not evidence-based. The NHS should not be indulging in this nonsense,” Moore added.
The hospital trust is known for being progressive when it comes to the LGBTQ+ agenda, and has reworked its guidelines and language to support “trans and non-binary birthing people.”
The Post noted that USHT reportedly removed its webpage about transgender breastfeeding guidance and now links to a group called La Leche League, which reportedly “supports everyone who wants to breastfeed or chestfeed in reaching their goals.”
However, a representative for the hospital told the outlet that it still “stand[s] by the facts of the letter and cited evidence supporting them.”