The University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust has declared that milk induced from transgender ‘women’ who were born male is as nutritious for infants as a mother’s breast milk. This statement came in a leaked letter from the Trust’s Medical Director, which responded to a complaint from a campaign group about the Trust’s gender policies. The letter defends the practice of induced lactation enabled by medication, stating that both forms of milk are “human milk” and are the “ideal food for infants”. The term “human milk” is reportedly meant to be unbiased and neutral.
Responding to the leaked letter, Labour Member of Parliament Rosie Duffield voiced concern over the use of infants as “guinea pigs for someone else’s lifestyle choice.” She noted that breast milk from a child’s biological mother is tailor-made for the baby and petitioned against the risk of “untested chemicals in children.” Men with gender dysphoria usually take a cocktail of powerful pharmaceuticals in their efforts to ‘become women.’ Duffield also expressed fear that the recognition of “human milk” from both mothers (real women) and trans women (actual men) could lead to the erasure of women.
The NHS Trust, in response, cited scientific studies that found “no observable infant side effects” on babies of lactating transgender women. However, some experts challenged this claim, citing the scarcity of comprehensive studies on the subject and the potential health risks associated with medications used to produce milk. They also highlighted that the milk yield is minimal, barely sufficient for a single feed. Despite criticisms, the Trust insists that the well-being and safeguarding of children are paramount in its policies.
