Mary Wakefield Mary Wakefield

The NHS says trans women should breastfeed babies. This is unforgivable

[iStock] 
issue 24 February 2024

There are a fair few trans women – men who want to be seen as ladies – who long to breastfeed real babies, and some who actually give it a good go. A few years ago this would have seemed unthinkably surreal, but I’m afraid this is the new reality and you’ll just have to get used to it.

A man who wants to breastfeed first takes hormones to grow breast tissue. Then he uses a technique adapted from something called the Newman-Goldfarb protocol, which was designed to help adoptive mothers breastfeed: he takes hormones and a hefty dose of an anti-nausea medication called domperidone and then begins an intense breast-pumping routine after which, if he’s lucky, he produces something a bit like milk.

After more time than I care to admit in forums for trans women online, I have a weary half-understanding of why a trans woman might want to try to breastfeed a baby.

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