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Original poster

Breastfeeding is now chestfeeding, Brighton’s trans-friendly midwives are told

607 replies

Mulletsaremisunderstood · 09/02/2021 17:41

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/breastfeeding-is-now-chestfeeding-brightons-trans-friendly-midwives-are-told-pwlvmcnc7

Hope this link works as I am a subscriber to the times and logged in.

More nonsense being peddled as 'progressive' Angry. When will the madness end!!?

OP posts:
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7
merrymouse · 10/02/2021 13:10

@prisencolinensinainciusol2

Where is this coming from?

Do we know who came up with the brilliant idea to call breast feeding "chest" feeding?

I want names.

Yes. They need to explain why it is acceptable to tell women (who are likely to be struggling after child birth, because who doesn't?) that Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust endorses both disassociation from your unmentionable female body and the idea that the concept of breastfeeding is innately disturbing.

Should you identify with wearing a pinny, cluttering up the pavement and being basic, you may tell your Health Visitor that your pronouns are she/her/breastfeeder.

StanfordPines · 10/02/2021 13:06

@Covidcorvid

The news story has hit the daily mail now and from reading that they say it’s an extra word. So the term will now be breast or chest feeding. They will talk about woman or birthing person depending on the individual. They will add alternative phrases to their policies, etc. But they won’t remove original terms. Which seems a lot better.
If that is the case than that is fine. Deal with each individual and respect them and their wishes.
littlbrowndog · 10/02/2021 12:54

Go back a page. I listed from Twitter.

McDuffy · 10/02/2021 12:54

@Kit19

Swim England were captured several years ago

www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-5357509/Swim-England-guidance-trans-swimmers-slammed.html

I believe the person at swim england who was in charge of drawing up those guidelines is now at sport england in a similar role...

Jamie Hooper
littlbrowndog · 10/02/2021 12:53

The money spent on this and so many people and time on this

Where is the same money and time being put into the outcomes for black women in pregnancy and birth

Kit19 · 10/02/2021 12:52

Swim England were captured several years ago

www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-5357509/Swim-England-guidance-trans-swimmers-slammed.html

I believe the person at swim england who was in charge of drawing up those guidelines is now at sport england in a similar role...

RedMarauder · 10/02/2021 12:52

@Morred

I just can't get my head round why "menstruators" is acceptable for people who menstruate but "breastfeeders" isn't acceptable for people feeding from their breasts. If a woman can have a penis, surely men can have breasts?
I think you need to ask some of the around 400 men a year who have breast cancer in the UK.
prisencolinensinainciusol2 · 10/02/2021 12:51

Where is this coming from?

Do we know who came up with the brilliant idea to call breast feeding "chest" feeding?

I want names.

littlbrowndog · 10/02/2021 12:50

From Twitter

Breastfeeding is now chestfeeding, Brighton’s trans-friendly midwives are told
prisencolinensinainciusol2 · 10/02/2021 12:49

@TheMoth

Don't men swim breast stroke?

Probably not anymore.

Does anyone know if Swim England have been captured? Yet?

DaisiesandButtercups · 10/02/2021 12:47

Andyoldlabour, phlegm?

andyoldlabour · 10/02/2021 12:38

I am concerned about the basic anatomical probelms around "chestfeeding".
The Thorax, or thoracic cavity - AKA "chest", contains and protects (with bone structure and muscle), the heart and lungs.
The bones include the ribs, thoracic vertebrae and sternum (breastbone), all of which are connected with cartilage.
On top of this are the various muscles, attached to the bones by tendons. The main muscles we wish to concentrate on are the - Pectoralis Major and Pectoralis Minor (from Latin "Pectus" - breast).
Therefore, I rest my case, that the muscles, fat and flesh on the outside of the Thorax is breast tissue.
The chest is an interior structure and even if chestfeeding was possible it would involve invasive surgery, and more worryingly, what would they be feeding the baby on?

highame · 10/02/2021 12:26

Meant to add, there are now over 3.5 thousand comments

highame · 10/02/2021 12:26

If you can't access the comments, you could be scrolling down too quickly. Take your time and let the bar jump around a bit

WinterIsGone · 10/02/2021 12:05

See the story covered on the bbc, hidden in the Sussex section:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-56007728

flyingbuttress43 · 10/02/2021 12:04

Why did I know, even before reading the article that it would be Brighton?

The same article is in the Telegraph, which also reports that Freddy McConnell is listed as an external adviser on the document. Well, colour me surprised.

WinterIsGone · 10/02/2021 12:02

I would like to read what comments Jo March makes!
I doubt you'd find them among the 3,479 comments I can see there at the moment, 99% agreeing with FWR Grin

merrymouse · 10/02/2021 12:01

To be fair, 'breast' is still allowed. It's just the meaning of the word has changed.

Before chest and breast referred to different parts of your body, now they just denote whether you are a pink or blue person.

oddworld · 10/02/2021 12:00

chestnut I'm autistic and once had a very anxious conversation with a pharmacist about the meaning of 'heartburn', and whether it meant I had a heart problem. Thankfully I didn't ever have to worry about 'chest pain' when my dcs were babies. I think the large numbers of women with autism, learning difficulties, EFL, literacy problems, etc need to be taken into account. Even adding extra words e.g. "breast/chest feeding support group" takes away clarity.

prisencolinensinainciusol2 · 10/02/2021 11:55

Thank you for posting that interesting link Just.

chestnutSquash · 10/02/2021 11:53

I agree with pp about medical terminology being important. It is easy to see how chest pain/ infection could be misinterpreted if the word "breast" is banned.
I see similar confusion on MN from time to time when posters use "stomach" when they mean "abdomen" for example, or even "vagina" when they mean "vulva". Usually it can be figured out, but if you aren't allowed to say the correct word? That would be silly.

merrymouse · 10/02/2021 11:49

Implicitly forcing women to make that decision - 'am I chestfeeding or breastfeeding?' - is wrong. Breastfeeding is a neutral word that doesn't imply anything about gender or identity.

DaisiesandButtercups · 10/02/2021 11:40

Exactly merrymouse we can respect individual needs without generalising them to the entire population of women for whom this language is by no means neutral but actively detrimental.

merrymouse · 10/02/2021 11:35

Even using requested terms with a patient individually is confusing though. A midwife talking about chest feeding because that’s what’s been requested would surely then also describe mastitis as a “chest infection”, with a symptom being “chest pain”. But those terms mean very different things to mastitis.

But presumably, the midwife would find a way of communicating on a one to one basis. Midwives have to deal with all sorts of women who have all sorts of problems.

The problem is the generalisation of a specific inaccurate term to the population at large.

Justhadathought · 10/02/2021 11:30

The very first sound a baby makes, in all languages, is Mama, Ma, or similar ( apart from gurgling)

www.dictionary.com/e/mama/

theweek.com/articles/464678/why-babies-every-country-earth-say-mama