Breast milk produced by men who transitioned to women is as good for babies as milk from a genetic female, according to British health researchers.
A leaked letter from the University of Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust found that the milk produced by transgender women after taking a combination of drugs and hormones is “comparable to that produced [by a mother] following the birth of a baby,” The Telegraph reported.
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.
According to British researchers, breast milk produced by males who transitioned to female is as good for babies as milk produced by a genetic female. CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images
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.
Motilium says only small amounts of the medication may be detected in breastmilk, although it adds that the medication “should be used during breastfeeding only if your physician considers this clearly necessary.”
But Lottie Moore of the think tank Policy Exchange sent a missive to the Telegraph bashing the hospital’s guidance, calling it “unbalanced” and “naïve.”
“This 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,” she told the outlet.
“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 said.
The leaked letter from the University of Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust claimed that transgender women can produce lactation partly by taking the hormone progestin. dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images
The hospital group, which also boasts that it created Britain’s “first clinical and language guidelines supporting trans and non-binary birthing people” was the subject of a complaint last year by the Children of Transitioners, an organization that advocates for children whose parents have transitioned genders.
Responding to the complaint, the hospital referred to the World Health Organization’s guidance and “overwhelming evidence” that “human milk” overall is better for a baby than formula milk.
It referenced a 2022 study that found “milk testosterone concentrations” were under 1% with “no observable side effects” in the babies.
USHT has since removed its Web page with its new guidance touting breastfeeding by trans women, now instead linking to the breastfeeding group La Leche League, which states it “supports everyone who wants to breastfeed or chestfeed in reaching their goals.”
But rep for the hospital said it still “stand[s] by the facts of the letter and the cited evidence supporting them.”
La Leche has an entire page on its Web site dedicated to supporting transgender and non-binary parents.
The Post has reached out to La Leche League.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s official Web site also has its own guidance published for transgender and non-binary parents on how to breastfeed or chestfeed.
But the federal agency has steered clear on advising the public either way as to the alleged potential risks, drawing criticism from some health experts.
The CDC did not immediately respond to a Post request for comment Monday.
