Inducing Lactation Possibilities and Outcomes
There are many ways in which people feed their babies. Thanks to innovations in food science, there are countless varieties of formula curated for any dietary need. In addition to great formula options, there are also ways to feed a baby human milk if that is what a family chooses. The birth giver can provide milk, it can be acquired through milk donation, or some families may choose the method of a caregiver or parent inducing lactation.
Inducing lactation is the act of causing the body to make milk. Often lactation occurs in a person who has just given birth, but it can also be induced without an accompanying pregnancy. Inducing lactation is not exclusively a new innovation; it is actually something humans have done throughout history! Records exist showing historical induction across a wide variety of cultures around the world, and it remains a practice globally today (1).
Usually, those who induce lactation are parents or caregivers who did not carry their children due to adoption, surrogacy, unique family structures, or their partner being the birth parent. Cisgender women of fertile years are not the only ones to have the ability to produce milk, as there are records of grandmothers co-nursing their grandchildren! We also know that transgender women can induce lactation, and some transgender women have reported milk production during the normal course of their hormone therapy.
Most people use the lactation method called Newman/Goldfarb. It was created by Lenore Goldfarb, a cisgender woman who had her child via a surrogate. A similar process was used by a transgender woman who successfully breastfeed her child and reported her success to medical researchers. Both methods use a combination of the medications domperidone and estrogen but have differences in dose and vary in their support medication, ex: spironolactone. These techniques also utilize breast pumps to stimulate the production of milk.
Unfortunately, rigorous scientific research on transgender women and lactation is limited. The Academy for Breastfeeding Medicine has published a guide on suggested protocol for professionals working with LGBTQ+ families who wish to induce lactation. More grassroots resources such as This blog, or many classes offered by trans educators or fellow birthworkeres, also exist.
In addition to medical research, anecdotally there are many examples of women who have successfully nursed their children after induction of lactation. Mother Kaia discusses her nursing relationship with her baby in this blog series Milk Junkies also shares interviews with mothers Sarah and Jenna, who each have their individual nursing journeys.
Being able to share success stories and having support for difficult issues are valuable to many transgender people who are inducing lactation -- this can also include transgender men and non-binary people who may have had chest surgery and still wish to nurse. With the current pandemic, social media support is abundant and safe. Birthing and Breastfeeding Transmen and Allies on Facebook is open to all transgender people entering a nursing journey (and allies interested in learning).
The needs of transgender parents are diverse. There are countless ways for families to expand and for parenting to unfold, which is why Trans Fertility Co. will continue to lift up the many diverse voices of our community.
To view personal stories of transgender parents, consider visiting our Video Library!