Joy Noel-Weiss is a retired La Leche League Leader, an RN and IBCLC, andan assistant professor at the School of Nursing, University of Ottawa, in Canada. Her nursing background includes working with families in community and hospital to provide postpartum and breastfeeding support. Professor Noel-Weiss has researched newborn weight loss, self-efficacy and breastfeeding, and ethical dilemmas among lactation consultants. Joy collaborated with Trevor MacDonald to lead a team from community to complete a research study that explored transmasculine individuals experiences with pregnancy, birth, and infant feeding.
Trevor MacDonald is a transgender man from Manitoba who birthed both his children at home and breastfeeds them. In 2011, he began writing a blog that quickly became popular with both transgender individuals and health care providers looking for information on transgender reproduction and infant feeding. Trevor started the first online support group for trans* individuals interested in birth and breast/chestfeeding. He has written tip sheets published by La Leche League Canada and has been quoted in numerous lectures, seminars, and university courses on gender and reproduction. He is the research coordinator and interviewer for a University of Ottawa project focusing on the experiences of transmasculine individuals with pregnancy, birth, and infant feeding.
Transmasculine individuals are labelled as female at birth, but they identify and transition to the masculine side of the gender spectrum later in life. Many transmasculine individuals take testosterone to develop a deeper voice, a male distribution of body fat and muscle mass, and male patterns of hair growth. Some individuals opt for sex reassignment surgeries which might include chest contouring surgery, hysterectomy, and/or phalloplasty. Transmasculine individuals who have not had a hysterectomy are in a unique position – they identify as male, but they can choose to become pregnant. We completed a qualitative research study to explore their experiences with pregnancy, birth, and breast or chest feeding. The aim of this presentation is to share the results of the study regarding the participants’ experiences with feeding their babies and to provide practical information about working with lactating transgender clients and patients.
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