The baby was exclusively fed for 6 weeks and was reported to be healthy and growing normally though.
From the review I posted:
Breast milk is the unique nourishment lactating mothers produce in order to sustain their own babies and protect them from disease in the weeks and months after birth, when the infant immune system is still not fully developed. First milk is called colostrum (birth – 4 days), which is a thick, yellowish fluid full of fat, vitamins and particularly rich in antibodies. Colostrum changes to a more calorific transitional milk (4 days – 2 weeks), which is high in fat and vitamins, and after that it becomes mature milk which is 90% water.
Maternal antibodies are first passed via the placenta to the baby during the last three months of pregnancy, and after the baby is born, he or she continues to receive antibodies through breast milk. As mother and baby share both the genetics and the environment, these antibodies are customised by the mother’s body to offer an individually tailored passive immunity and protection from the pathogens the baby is most likely to encounter.
Therefore, I found it strange that Reisman & Goldstein made no attempt to analyse the composition of their male patient’s drug-induced nipple discharge, considering that they talked at length about the benefits of breastfeeding on mother and baby, none of which were applicable to their male patient or indeed the infant he, allegedly, fed.
Be that as it may, as a consequence of a cocktail of drugs and a breast pump, this patient started to “lactate”, eventually producing 8 oz of nipple discharge daily, two weeks prior to the birth of the baby.
Although we have no further details about the volume, the study claims that whatever fluid was produced, it was the sole source of this baby’s nourishment for 6 weeks. After this time, the patient reportedly started to supplement with 4–8 oz of Similac brand formula daily.
The authors gave no indication that they observed this alleged “breastfeeding”, or that they met the mother or the infant. They did state that “the child’s pediatrician reported that the child’s growth, feeding, and bowel habits were developmentally appropriate”, but offered no corroborating evidence.
Considering that a 5 lb baby needs about 12 oz of breast milk or formula a day, and more as the baby’s weight increases, it is extremely unlikely that any infant would survive for 6 weeks on 8 oz alone. Furthermore, mothers who are unable to breastfeed know only too well how important it is to use adequate amounts of baby formula. Failing to do so can result in serious harm to the baby.
I have no evidence that the baby who was allegedly subject to this experiment was harmed in any way. However, there are so many omissions, unknowns and missing data that I cannot help but ask, why was a trans-identified man held to a drastically different standard of infant care than actual mothers?
That this experiment was conducted by a Transgender Clinic, which neither had licence, nor expertise, to oversee the breastfeeding of a newborn, only adds to my concerns regarding ethics, safety and bias in this study.