La Leche League founder quits due to organization’s promotion of male ‘chestfeeding’

One of the founders of La Leche League (LLL), an international support organization for breastfeeding mothers, has resigned from the group’s board over its decision to promote the idea of ‘chestfeeding’ men, and the unproven and unstudied claim that biological males can successfully breastfeed.

According to The Daily Wire, Marian Tompson, now age 94, has been a participant in La Leche League since she helped found it in 1956. She explained in a letter that current leadership has turned the organization into “a travesty of my original intent” by “indulging the fantasies of adults.”

“From an organization with the specific mission of supporting biological women who want to give their babies the best start in life by breastfeeding them, LLL’s focus has subtly shifted to include men who, for whatever reason, want to have the experience of breastfeeding, despite no careful long-term research on male lactation and how that may affect the baby,” wrote Tompson.

She continued, “This shift from following the norms of nature, which is the core of mothering through breastfeeding, to indulging the fantasies of adults, is destroying our organization.”

She said there was “nothing” more she could do to change the board’s mind.

Likewise, LLL Great Britain trustee Miriam Main also quit over the inclusivity policy that would force her to help biological men “perform a poor imitation of breastfeeding,” putting the health and lives of babies in danger.

La Leche League’s website now includes a section for “transgender and nonbinary parents” and notes that it “supports everyone who wants to breastfeed or chestfeed in reaching their goals.” The “goal” of breastfeeding should be to provide a child with the best possible nutrition to grow and be healthy. If this is not the “goal” of ‘chestfeeding’ — or if ‘chestfeeding’ cannot achieve the goal of proper nutrition for the child, then supporting such a “goal” is counterproductive and even detrimental to children.

READ: How a community of moms banded together in effort to save breastmilk during Texas hurricane

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offered guidance on “chestfeeding” in 2023, which was met with a wave of criticism over its decision to ignore the potential health risks that chestfeeding causes infants. Biological males do not typically lactate (except in extremely rare instances such as a pituitary tumor), and the drugs they are given to artificially induce “nipple discharge” do not in any way supply the necessary and vital health benefits that breastmilk provides to babies. In fact, they may be dangerous.

One of the drugs, spironolactone, is used for heart and blood pressure issues. In men with gender dysphoria, it’s given off-label to block male sex receptors, which creates a feminized appearance. Spironolactone has a long list of potential side effects for adult users, and its effects on infants have not been fully studied. Another drug, domperidone, is not FDA-approved for any reason in the U.S.

Read more on the dangers of “chestfeeding” here.

The source for the CDC’s guidance appears to be a document from The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, which used a single case report plus anecdotal evidence to make recommendations about allegedly inducing lactation in men. A case report reflects the experience of just one patient, and making sweeping recommendations based on one patient’s experience is not sound science.

Breastmilk is naturally produced by the mother to fit the specific nutritional needs of that baby and changes to fit those needs as the baby grows. As Live Action News previously noted, Sen Roger Marshall of Kansas, a retired OB/GYN with 25 years of experience, stated in a 2023 press release, “Colostrum is Mother Nature’s nutrient dense, real mother’s milk loaded with antibodies and antioxidants that gives a mom’s protection to the vulnerable newborn.” He continued, “… the liquid produced by biological males will not provide all the nutrition or calories healthy, growing newborn babies need. … A biological male filled with hormones and a concoction of other drugs that have not been studied that could harm a baby should NEVER be encouraged.”

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