The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released guidance for transgender individuals who want to “chestfeed” babies.

The CDC has published an “Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies” toolkit that provides guidance for parents who need to feed their children in emergencies. In the “Health Equity Consideration” section of the toolkit, the CDC states the following:

“Transgender and nonbinary-gendered individuals may give birth and breastfeed or feed at the chest (chestfeed). The gender identity or expression of transgender individuals is different from their sex at birth. The gender identity of nonbinary-gendered individuals does not fit neatly into either man or woman. n individual does not need to have given birth to breastfeed or chestfeed.”

CDC Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies Toolkit

Under the “Breastfeeding And Special Circumstances” page on its website, the CDC posted a short Q&A about individuals who breastfeed after breast surgery. When asked if transgender parents who have had breast surgery can breastfeed, or “chestfeed,” their infants, the CDC responds with “yes.”

“Some transgender parents who have had breast/top surgery may wish to breastfeed, or chestfeed (a term used by some transgender and non-binary parents), their infants,” the CDC states. “Healthcare providers working with these families should be familiar with medical, emotional, and social aspects of gender transitions to provide optimal family-centered care and meet the nutritional needs of the infant.”

The CDC elaborates that some transgender parents may need help with “maximizing milk production.” It also states that transgender individuals who choose not to breastfeed may need assistance with suppressing lactation.

By using terms like “lactating woman” instead of breastfeeding mothers, and “chestfeeding” instead of breasting, the CDC is actively denying the biological truths necessary for raising children.

For decades, medical organizations like the CDC have issued a number of recommendations for breastfeeding mothers to protect the health and safety of babies. These include avoiding alcohol, limiting caffeine, and being cautious of the potential effects prescribed medication may have on breastfeeding. But when it comes to biological men who identify as women attempting to breastfeed a child, the CDC has no problem condemning this anti-scientific and anti-common sense practice.

In response to the CDC’s guidance for transgender parents, many doctors have publicly criticized the agency as being irresponsible.

In an interview with Daily Mail, the executive director of the conservative Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, Dr. Jane Orient, emphasized that the CDC is neglecting the possible consequences of transgender parents breastfeeding babies.

“We have no idea what the long-term effects on the child will be’ if a breastfeeding trans woman uses all kinds of off-label hormones,” Dr. Orient told Daily Mail “The CDC has a responsibility to talk about the health risks, but they have been derelict in doing that.“

Children need the best care possible from their parents. Child rearing is not a place for parents to experiment or play out their fetishes.