In the name of “equality,” the University of Sussex Hospitals National Health Service (NHS) Trust has stated that pharmacologically induced breast milk produced by men is comparable to milk produced by females. The NHS trust further stated that there are no side effects for infants who are fed through this “breast milk.” However, on top of the hormones taken by males seeking to be “transgender,” these infants are indeed being exposed to side effects through this chemical cocktail meant to mimic the breast milk of natural women.
Men who wish to be transgender are often given spironolactone to suppress testosterone production and artificial estrogen (estradiol) and progesterone (progestin) to increase feminine features. Lactation is induced in men through an increase in the consumption of estradiol and progestin to mimic the hormonal changes of pregnancy and breastfeeding.
There have been no published studies regarding the effects of spironolactone on “chest-fed” infants, nor the safety of estradiol and progestin given at such increased doses. During pregnancy, naturally produced progesterone gradually increases from 20 to 30 milligrams per day to 200 to 400 milligrams per day at the end of term, while progestin doses for men inducing lactation can range from 200 milligrams and increase up to 400 milligrams before lactation, which is at the far end of the range naturally produced by a pregnant woman.
The changes in the body brought about through these hormones also trigger an increase in prolactin, the hormone responsible for the development of mammary glands and producing milk. To maintain prolactin levels, the medication domperidone, usually used to treat nausea, is prescribed.
The Food and Drug Administration has banned domperidone in the United States due to cardiac risks such as arrhythmias, cardiac arrest, and sudden death, and has strongly warned against the drug’s use to induce lactation, as the drug is excreted in breast milk and can expose the baby to unknown risks. Domperidone has also caused cardiotoxicity in children and is not to be used in persons with hepatic impairment or electrolyte imbalances, both of which can be present in infants.
Further, one case study showed that a man who identified as transgender was required to increase his domperidone intake to 30 milligrams three times a day, while the recommended dosage to increase lactation is 10 milligrams three times a day, showing that men may require an increased dosage of this harmful medication to induce and maintain lactation.
Milk Supply
If a man is successfully able to induce lactation and there are no medication-induced harms to the baby, is the milk providing infants with the necessary nutrition? Two case studies of “chestfeeding” men have shown that what they are able to produce — three to five ounces per day and eight ounces per day — was not enough to adequately feed a growing infant.
The few studies conducted on the nutritional value of transgender breast milk are inadequate. But as Talia Nava states, “The studies involving males are consistent in low milk supply and inconsistent when it comes to nutritional value.”
Deprivation of Mother and Father
Children already suffer when deprived of the complementary benefits of having a mother and father. We know that mothers and fathers provide necessary, distinctive roles and influences in the lives of their children. Not only is being raised by one’s biological mother and father a component for establishing a child’s identity, but the dual-sex influence present in the mother/father partnership is an essential component for the development of well-rounded children.
Abiding love is sacrificial and unselfish, and it ensures that the fundamental needs of children are met, despite what an adult might desire. There exists a natural, fundamental right for children to be loved and known by their biological mothers and fathers, the only two human beings responsible for their existence, the only mother and father from whom they inherit their unique genetic identities. The unique benefits mothers and fathers provide for their children range from learning emotional regulation through motherly interaction to learning the value of risk-taking, which is inherent in the fatherly form of attachment.
Mothers and fathers also provide modeling for children of healthy men/women relationships, which lays the foundation for children when seeking out their own future relationships. Transgender parenting arrangements therefore provide a disfigured foundation for children to seek to emulate in marriage. While a transgender-identified person may provide a facade of a natural man or woman, he or she will never be capable of fully embracing true masculinity or femininity. Further, a transgendered partnership will never be capable of successfully enlightening children to fully embrace their own identities as men and women in their own marriages and future parenting.
Allowing babies to be experimented on with medically induced male lactation and intentionally putting them at a disadvantage at the beginning of their lives to affirm gender dysphoria is an injustice. Children are not commodities that exist for the fulfillment of adults. Rather, adults must conform their lives to the natural rights of children.