As both a mother and a perinatal nurse with extensive training in breast feeding and lactation, I find myself nauseous over the headlines I am reading regarding the assertions from an NHS Trust that milk produced through drug-induced lactation by men is just as advantageous for infants as milk from women or mothers. 

Milk, or whatever substance that men produce when they take a slew of medications to validate their own lifestyle choices, is not the same as tailor-made breast milk produced by lactating women. The notion that it’s even close to comparable and that we should be encouraging men to feed infants with this fake and potentially harmful substance is unethical, experimental, dangerous, and is child abuse. These “health experts” pandering this information should not be trusted. 

In 2018 a case report was published as the “first formal report” of a transgender woman man feeding an adopted infant his breast milk. Of note, the article does zero comparison on this man’s milk and the milk of a naturally lactating mother. Further, to achieve “milk production” in men, an androgen blockade like spironolactone is required. Spironolactone has been reported to have tumorigenic potential in rats.  Further, these men need medication like domperidone, a drug used off-label as a galactagogue. Domperidone is not currently available in the United States for gastrointestinal use due to the FDA’s concerns and unknown risks on infants.  

This is a matter of child welfare and child rights, which both #BigFertililty and “transgender” ideology seem to pay no mind to.

Guest on Venus Rising, Milli Hill, author of The Positive Birth Book and Give Birth Like a Feminist, has been quoted saying: ‘Breastfeeding is not about the experience of the person doing the feeding – it is about nourishing and nurturing a baby.’ However, we live in a culture now where the feelings of selfish men are being considered more than that of the most vulnerable, an infant. 

How did we get here? We got here through the slow, methodical, and intentional erasure of women from birth centers, midwifery and obstetrical care, birth classes, lactation support groups, and various other women-only spaces and functions across the globe. What started as replacing words like “breast” with “chest” has turned into a full assault on infants, children, and evidenced-based care for infants and women. We at the Center for Bioethics and Culture Network do not and will not support these ridiculous assertions. 

 One article used the sub headline, “the science is new, but fascinating.” Fascinatingly criminal and terrifying. 

 

Author Profile

Kallie Fell, Executive Director
Kallie Fell, Executive Director
Kallie Fell, MS, BSN, RN, started her professional career as a scientist in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center utilizing a Master of Science degree in Animal Sciences with an emphasis on Reproductive Physiology and Molecular Biology from Purdue University. While assisting in the investigation of endometriosis and pre-term birth, Kallie simultaneously pursued a degree in nursing with hopes of working with women as a perinatal nurse. After meeting Jennifer at a conference, Kallie became interested in the work of the Center for Bioethics and Culture and started volunteering with the organization. It is obvious that Kallie is passionate about women’s health. She continues to work, as she has for the past 6 years, as a perinatal nurse and has worked with the CBC since 2018, first as a volunteer writer, then as our staff Research Associate, and now as the Executive Director. In 2021, Kallie co-directed the CBC’s newest documentary, Trans Mission: What’s the Rush to Reassign Gender? Kallie also hosts the popular podcast Venus Rising and is the Program Director for the Paul Ramsey Institute.