{"id":294821,"date":"2023-07-18T14:35:01","date_gmt":"2023-07-18T19:35:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=294821"},"modified":"2023-07-17T19:47:07","modified_gmt":"2023-07-18T00:47:07","slug":"cdc-chestfeeding-based-no-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/cdc-chestfeeding-based-no-science\/","title":{"rendered":"CDC\u2019s ‘chestfeeding’ guidance isn\u2019t based on ‘bad science.’ It’s based on no science at all."},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Chestfeeding<\/em>. Bodyfeeding<\/em>. <\/span><\/p>\n

These terms have recently emerged as alternative names for breastfeeding in the ever-changing lexicon of our brave new world. But in reality, w<\/em><\/span>omen can conceive babies. Women can breastfeed. Men can do neither. <\/span><\/i>These weren\u2019t controversial statements at any point in history, yet they\u2019re presently considered up for debate, or even deemed hateful or harmful to individuals suffering from gender dysphoria. <\/span><\/p>\n

In the last year, reputable medical organizations that once prided themselves on presenting evidence-based medicine have adopted language aimed at inclusivity but which is unmoored from basic biology and objective reality.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The latest example is \u201cchestfeeding\u201d <\/span>guidance<\/span><\/a> issued by the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC). The guidance could theoretically apply to biological women who have had their breasts removed or significantly reduced, which makes lactation very difficult, or to individuals who believe themselves to be neither male nor female. But it\u2019s most applicable to biological men who identify as transgender women and want to breastfeed (or \u201cchestfeed\u201d) the children they\u2019ve adopted or who were carried by their female partners or <\/span>surrogates<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

The CDC has been <\/span>castigated<\/span><\/a> for irresponsibly ignoring likely health risks to infants, particularly from powerful medications taken by the <\/span>biological males seeking to feed them<\/span><\/a>. <\/span>Critics<\/span><\/a> insist that artificially-induced \u201c<\/span>nipple discharge<\/span><\/a>\u201d cannot come close to providing the <\/span>health benefits<\/span><\/a> true breastmilk confers on babies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The CDC\u2019s new guidance is found on two web pages<\/span><\/h3>\n

The CDC\u2019s website contains two references to transgender individuals attempting to breastfeed.\u00a0<\/span>The first is on its <\/span>Health Equity Considerations<\/span><\/a> webpage, which reads:<\/span><\/p>\n