Transgender woman breastfeeds infant in first documented case

Doctors are celebrating the case of a transgender woman who is the first in recorded medical history to breastfeed an infant.

A study conducted by Transgender Health shows that the 30-year-old woman went to doctors at New York's Mount Sinai with the purpose of breastfeeding her partner's newborn. She said her partner did not want to, so she hoped to take on the responsibility.

According to the study, the woman hadn't undergone gender reassignment surgery or breast augmentation surgery. She had been taking hormone therapy for six years in order to transition into a woman.

The Guardian reports, doctors say Transgender medicine is becoming part of mainstream medicine. There is now evidence-based data for more standardized care.

According to New Scientist, the woman followed a plan that would induce lactation in non-trans women.

She used a breast pump to stimulate milk production while taking domperidone—a nausea medication linked to increased production—and increasing doses of progesterone, estradiol, and spironolactone.

Progesterone and estradiol are female hormones, while spironolactone acts as an inhibitor to testosterone.

Doctors say since domperidone is banned from the U.S., the woman had to obtain it from Canada.

The FDA says the drug can boost the milk-producing hormone prolactin.

Doctors on the case say after three months the woman could produce 8 ounces of milk per day, enough to keep her baby healthy and developing normally for six weeks, though the average baby consumes more than twice that daily. The woman afterwards supplemented with formula.

Source: kwch