The Science of Trans Women Breastfeeding | Sci Guys Podcast

In a world fraught with injustice, perhaps the most pressing issue to address is… women breastfeeding their kids. According to transphobes, that is.
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References & Further Reading
Breastfeeding (and Chestfeeding)
www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/dat...
www.nhs.uk/medicines/hormone-...
www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/having-a...
Lactation
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NB...
www.babycenter.com/baby/breas...
my.clevelandclinic.org/health...
Induced Lactation
www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-li...
www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-li...
nestcollaborative.com/blog/fo...
Induced Lactation in Trans Women
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1...
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38535...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37138...
internationalbreastfeedingjou...
www.economist.com/the-economi...
www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.108...
Trans Women Breastfeeding
www.thepinknews.com/2024/05/2...
www.oprah.com/oprahshow/real-...
Milk Junkies Interviews
www.milkjunkies.net/2017/05/je...
www.milkjunkies.net/2013/05/tr...
www.milkjunkies.net/2013/07/tr...
HRT & Breastfeeding
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
cks.nice.org.uk/topics/menopa...
www.balance-menopause.com/men...
breastfeeding-and-medication....
www.womens-health-concern.org...

[@SciGuys]

Were you breastfed, or do you breastfeed? Let us know why/why not! Also, a bonus question, are you a trans parent - what’s your experience like?

[@lindarikkers3442]

I was breastfed for a short period, I breastfed my kids for a long period. You're right it's much more than just food, I really appreciate you mentioning that 💖

[@rosegriffin2038]

i was breastfed until i was 3 lol

[@FrozEnbyWolf150]

It constitutes my first conscious memory from when I was 1-2 days old. I've heard it's unusual to remember things from that time.

[@playformers1238]

@@FrozEnbyWolf150 that's a lie 💀 couldn't u make it less obvious?

[@jasminema]

I breastfed both my children until they were 16 months (first and pregnant with my 2nd) and 4 years for my 2nd

[@BoliVic96]

I've always wondered why breasfreeding is such a controversial topic, until this episode made me realize, oh, it has to do with woman's bodies, of course people have oppinions about it 🙄

[@planetaryg0]

i think i grew up privileged in that i never knew abt these harmful things like sexism, racism, policing womens bodies etc, even tho i'm afab and oriental. i was dumbfounded finding these things out as a teenager. like, there being controversy around breast feeding is such a crazy concept to me?? and how is a woman more stupid the nicer her appearance is?? it just pisses me off even more bc the world i imagined as a child is not the world i'm now having to deal w as an adult.

[@conlon4332]

@@planetaryg0 That does sound so disappointing. I don't know why people are like this...

[@ShinyPurpleGhost]

I’m trans masc and I breast fed my baby for 1.5 years. The experience was one of the things that pushed me to come out. I had buried the dysphoria so deep. It started to break out while I was pregnant but after giving birth and feeding I couldn’t bury it anymore

[@Juno-b4f]

Thankyou for sharing. I'm transmasc too! Struggling to decide whether to conceive a child or not

[@TheEnbyDragon]

I'm also transmasc, and my experience was similar. Pregnancy was the worst for my dysphoria, which made me only capable of breastfeeding for a week before i exclusively used a pump. But it did force me to stop denying and start exploring my gender, internally at first, and openly once i was safe to do so.

[@luke]

Phenomenal thumbnail. Wow.

[@ellabellab27]

I FOUND LUKE

[@Pinkywinkykinky]

definitely caught my attention, Luke 😳They're getting more scandalous on your break

[@FrozEnbyWolf150]

Before I even understood the concept of transness, I had read stories of cisgender men who had breastfed their children. So when this topic came up, it didn't seem the least bit strange to me.

[@conlon4332]

Really? Is that possible?? I've never heard of that before. How does that work if they don't have breasts?

[@FrozEnbyWolf150]

@@conlon4332 All humans have breast tissue. It just develops larger following female puberty. In rare cases, men can lactate, and can get breast cancer as well. It's a matter of degrees, not category.

[@aurieteixeira]

Bahahaha I’m a trans woman and I was definitely also coming up with biological advantage jokes as that information was being presented 😂😂😂

[@BoliVic96]

you just unlocked this knowledge for me, not only I was breastfeed, but I only stopped at almost two year old because my brother was cooking in the oven and my mother knew she couldn't keep up with the both of us at the same time, but I think she really cherished it, she was super proud of feeding us because she grew up really poor and I think she loved being able to provide for us with her own body

[@mummamu1970]

I’m 54. My last child was born in 1997. I still produce milk.

[@conlon4332]

Wow! What do you do with it? Did you deliberately keep it going or did it just never stop?

[@mummamu1970]

@@conlon4332 it just keeps going. With my first baby I pumped extra milk for a woman who had a new baby and cancer and she couldn’t breast feed because of the chemo. I went back to work two weeks after my second baby and mostly had to pump. Idk if that made a difference. I once had a doc tell me to “leave them alone” lol but I honestly am not doing anything g out of the ordinary to encourage it. Since breast feeding lowers your chance of breast cancer I’m not mad about it. Hormone levels are normal, had scan of brain to look for pituitary gland tumor, negative. So just one more reason to include me in your apocalypse survival group.. 😆

[@rita.sotero]

i was prescribed domperidone for my gastroparesis, and I need to take it only in sos exactly because it induces lactation

[@conlon4332]

Would that be a big problem?

[@rita.sotero]

@@conlon4332 actually yes!! Cus once the medication starts to produce thst effect it stops being “productive” for my gastroparesis. Also lactating when is not needed comes with a lot of problems associated likes mestitis

[@devin-rq2hu]

you should’ve had nominalniomi on for this episode! i’m about to listen to it and i’m assuming they come up, because their claim to fame as a nonbinary transfem person is breastfeeding their child. i remember when it was the biggest topic on gc twitter.

[@SciGuys]

We reached out to her, but it fell through!

[@Juno-b4f]

I was breastfed because my mum thought it would be better for us than formula milk. As an afab trans masculine person, I don't know if I would breastfeed if I were to conceive and have a child 1) because I don't know if I would have had top surgery prior to all that 2) because I believe that breastfeeding could alter the size and shape of my nipples and would make my breasts bigger for longer, which I imagine would make my chest dysphoria worse. It would be a very tough decision. Breast feeding is arguably better than formula milk, as I understand it, but that would have to be balanced with the impact of delaying gender affirming care on my mental health.

[@jasminema]

I had domperidone for nausea and vomiting when I was on chemo...thankfully didnt need to take too many

[@ellabellab27]

fun fact, my dad did in fact tear my frenulum

[@lindarikkers3442]

OOOH that's such a cool topic! It should be possible, at least partially w stimulation & probably Domperidone

[@Juno-b4f]

But despite being breastfed, I went on to develop lots of allergies and asthma 😅. But then I also wasn't breastfed up to the age of 6, as the World Health Organisation recommends, I guess because it's seen as socially unacceptable in the UK

[@nadiaaaj6618]

I love this podcast and I've been watching from the start but I wish they addressed the changes! Like when Jamp left, they didn't mention it or what happened and now that Luke is presumably on paternity leave and they've brought Ethan whos great. Just wish they kept us in the loop. It feels a bit weird ignoring such glaring changes.

[@SciGuys]

You’ve got to remember that our lives aren’t anyone’s business! We addressed Ethan filling in for Luke in his first episode & have been very open about him coming back :)

[@conlon4332]

@@SciGuys I suppose maybe they're saying they'd like you to introduce the new person and explain that they're going to be taking over from now on? If you don't already do that I'm not sure I've only watched a few episodes but that's how I read the comment.

[@RaunienTheFirst]

Lacto- genesis like the first book in the bible not geneesis like, uh...

[@SciGuys]

Honestly we recorded this late at night, I don’t even know where I was getting that one from

[@barclaycork-ys5wz]

So if im understanding anyone who has been on 'the pill' (which contains progestin the synthetic form of progesterone) , they would be capable of lactation?

[@jurrevanderwal4346]

wow epic countdown

[@soupsoup8006]

I was breastfed until I was like 2 and it was because of the health benefits . I personally would not breast feed. I Would not be a fan of having breasts . Also , I’m allergic to milk protein so I don’t even want to know what that would do to my body if I produced it myself 😟.

[@BiblicallyAccurateHoodie]

What happen to Luke? Is he ok??

[@ellabellab27]

hes probably just taking care of his baby

[@BiblicallyAccurateHoodie]

@@ellabellab27he had a baby?? That makes sense thank you I didn’t know he had a kid lol

[@SciGuys]

Who is Luke?

[@fFLEABAGg]

Luke was a social experiment made up by 2017 prank channel KZbinrs

[@averageceilingenjoyer]

@@SciGuys he's in episode 263

[@avamarsh-kw9be]

bring back luke 💔

[@SciGuys]

He’ll be back soon!

[@Juno-b4f]

😂 Luke is awesome, I love him. I'm enjoying the serious and scientific vs joking and disruptive dynamic in this video.

[@soupsoup8006]

Wait where is Luke it’s been a while

[@SciGuys]

He’s busy breastfeeding :/

[@soupsoup8006]

@@SciGuys I can’t believe the famous sci guys replied to me with “he’s busy breastfeeding :/“ I am going to screenshot this and hang it on my wall. Thank you.

[@mchyde4433]

Tried to get a new listener but you guys sound like 6th graders

[@SciGuys]

But we’re British?