Transwoman BFs baby for 6 weeks

[goodyzoe]

No mention of the actual mother. Given the well documented narcisistic tendencies of many transwomen are mothers going to be bullied out of BFing now so transwomen can use babies to validate their delusions.

And what of the baby's health - the drugs used to stimulate milk in the trans woman come through in the milk - what is the effect of this?

We know milk is not just food but medicine. Even if a trans woman van produce milk with drugs to stimulate it - is their body working with the baby's to support their immune system like it would from the mother?

How fucking selfish do you have to be, to experiment on a baby like this.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.romper.com/p/a-transgender-woman-has-exclusively-breastfed-her-baby-its-a-dream-come-true-8146751/amp

Urgh. Amongst the comments on the Jezebel page:

^As a transwoman who wants to adopt, this makes me so incredibly happy. I’ve always wanted to be a mom (yes, despite the stupid medical condition I was born with) and being able to connect with an infant in this way is so meaningful to me.

Wow 😮

The difference between the two sites is huge.

Why is there such disparity?

I know. Compared to the common sense on Lipstick Alley it's like night and day;

"Women are policed and scrutinized over what to eat during gestation AND breastfeeding but this guy pumps himself with drugs to breastfeed and nobody's saying anything?!!! We are actually prioritizing the feelings of a man over the health of an infant!" (posted by Cheshire Cat)

I would say that being a minority group too, that black women don't have as much fear of being called bigots, but as far as I can see the TRAs are going for black critics just as hard.

I’m in complete agreement with Barracker. There’s zero evidence this happened.

"future momma"? A "medical condition" is what prevents a male from having a baby and breast feeding it?

Christ on a trampoline, where to start when that level of dim virtue signalling meets that level of manipulation of reality. What a mess.

GoodyMog and others who've called this into question: I'm starting to think you're right.

According to the existing research on lactating fathers, which proves that it is certainly possible to induce lactation in men, every single attempt to do this under controlled conditions has failed to induce the production of sufficient volume to exclusively nurse a baby.

(There is one report in the media of one man, I think in Thailand, who managed to nurse his baby after his wife died, but there is no real data on this.)

The study says the transwoman produced 8oz per day just before the birth of the baby, and that at six weeks they started to supplement with 4-8oz of formula daily due to concerns about supply. At that age in formula terms this translates to just one or two feeds, but a baby at 40 days old needs 30oz of breastmilk or around 28oz of formula.

Now in a non-nursing pregnant woman, we know that if she produces milk prior to birth, production certainly increases after and in tandem nursing her body resets to the needs of the new baby, and produces colostrum after birth. This male however has no such feedback mechanisms in his body - he's not giving birth (but they tried to "mimic" this by varying his hormone regimen). Did this baby get any colostrum?

It's also doubtful he'd produce more milk once baby is born, he's already pumping at least six times a day. Unsurprisingly, the case study is light on data after birth - It would have been quite easy to ascertain how much milk was consumed in a sitting by weighing the baby before and after. So the complete absence of any data on milk volume after the baby's birth is conspicuous.

FYI here's an infographic on breastfed babies

www.medela.co.uk/dam/medela-com/breastfeeding-consumer/documents/general/infographic-what-is-normal-in-breastfeeding.pdf?uuid=jcr:6e23e804-c9c1-4e76-88b9-923752b4c451

m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1974709275876737&id=273977709283244

Can't believe the comments. A very creepy TRA gets ten likes for saying this has been a thing on the kink scene for ages.....You can't involve a baby in your "kink" you sick fucking pervert! And loads of idiots who don't understand biology.

I actually think America is irredeemable at this stage, no hope for it at all.

I’m sketchy about the details but colostrum is only made by a women who has just given birth, due to the unique hormonal changes that occur and cannot be replicated even in females who are trying to induce lactation.

Although males have rudimentary breast tissue, they do not have the same number of ducts or glandular tissues and they would not grow even with hormonal therapy because it is “switched off” at the genetic level. It is highly unlikely that a man could produce enough milk to sustain a baby in the same way women can, even if the milk they produce is of decent quality.

I’ve heard about the man in EA too, but it is purely anecdotal, there is zero tangible evidence that he actually breastfed at all, never mind exclusively bf’d for a sustained period.

I've complained to the BBC about its totally uncritical coverage of this story. I'll let you know what response I get. They basically just precised the article. No attempt to consider the issues raised at all. Poor show.

charlieparley that's very interesting, I wondered if you had any links to any refs/info about previous studies of lactation in men?

My thoughts on this were, if it is research which benefits ALL breastfeeding women then great, but if loads of money is now going to be thrown at making males lactate when there are 100s of mothers struggling with bf and not getting help then - not great.

Ilovedolly 100s? Try millions! The drop off stats for bf are very depressing in the UK.
I have peak transed over this. I am ANGRY on so many levels

I’m sketchy about the details but colostrum is only made by a women who has just given birth,

Colostrum can be made during pregnancy. I was able to squeeze some out prior to birth and some women are advised to pump a little and save it for baby ( I remember it can be to do with diabetes I think?) I think I could now at 28 weeks as there're getting rather cheesy

Women can tandem feed too. Women who are still feeding their first born and choose to stick to one breast find the milk in the other becomes true colostrum and the other remains more milky.

Some children self wean when their mum is pregnant as the milk can change with the pregnancy hormones; lessen or change taste/ consistency. Others who go on to tandem feed really like the colostrum.

As oestrogen rises during the whole of the pregnancy but esp in the second, this triggers increased amounts of prolactin to be released which stimulates certain receptors in the mammary glands to create milk.

The whole thing is extremely complex involving other hormones and factors. I do remember my lll groups chatting about certain dysfunctions of the pituitary gland in men (and non pregnant women) that can cause lactation to be produced but not in regards to actually feeding a baby.

I think what would concern me most is the amount of other hormones needed by a TiM (eg the oestrogen etc) in order to lactate. I doubt it's enough to sustain feeding and I'd worry about the synthetic hormones in the milk.

Double checking a few bits, also got me thinking about this idea that a TiM could have a womb transplant and carry a baby; iirc, the ovaries are involved in some of the early hormone production as well as the pituitary etc plus the thyroid gland etc. The cocktail of drugs needed to sustain pregnancy plus not reject the womb feels mind boggling and extremely disturbing.

I totally agree Iovedolly.

^the details of my post above is basically to prove how bloody complex the whole thing is (and that's a really simplified version)

Women can tandem feed too. Women who are still feeding their first born and choose to stick to one breast find the milk in the other becomes true colostrum and the other remains more milky.

Female bodies are truly incredible aren't they?

I've had a reply from the BBC about my complaint. I suspect the respondent did not understand most of the points I was trying to make as a lot of it just parrots back to me what I said. As for the idea that the BBC never takes a position on news items!

**
Thank you for contacting us about the BBC News article: 'Transgender woman breastfeeds baby in first recorded case, study says'

We're sorry you feel the article was poorly researched, gave no acknowledgement about a controversial issue and included no comment from a mother or a breastfeeding expert.

While we note your concerns we would explain that this article aimed to inform on research that showed a transgender woman being able to breastfeed a baby in the first recorded case of its kind. This information was provided by the Transgender Health journal which is the source material and linked to the BBC News article.

In reference to your second point in which you mention the Breastfeeding benefits for both mother and infant we would explain that this information is provided by the source material :'Reisman T, Goldstein Z (2018) Case report: induced lactation in a transgender woman, Transgender Health 3:1, 24–26, DOI: 10.1089/trgh.2017.0044.'

We appreciate you feel the report failed to include relevant information though we would point out that while we strive to deliver accurate and balanced information across our output, it is not always possible or practical to reflect every element of a subject within an individual report, bulletin or article. Editors are charged to ensure that over a reasonable period they highlight a range of significant views, opinions and trends in their subject area.

BBC News never takes a position on anything that we cover, our aim is simply to provide enough information for viewers to make up their own minds. The article does mention that 'the baby also started having formula milk because not enough breast milk was being produced.'

The News website provides for a wide range of news, features and information, offering a rich and varied selection for our readers.

We always aim to ensure that the material we carry is of justifiable interest and also presented appropriately. Trying to accommodate such a vast and varied audience is a perpetual dilemma for us, but we can assure you that we value your feedback and that you have taken the time to share your views.

Your concerns have been sent directly to the online news teams on an internal report of audience feedback. These reports can be used to inform future broadcasting and policy decisions so please be assured that your complaint has been sent to the right people.

Kind regards

BBC Complaints Team

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