I am named for Dr. Gregory White, who helped deliver me, husband of Mary White, one of LLL’s foundresses. My mom was at the 1971 convention and met Princess Grace. She was for years a LLL lactation consultant. To this day I am friends with the children and grandchildren of Greg and Mary White. LLL was not just some offshoot of the hippie movement. It stemmed from a profound Catholic anthropology, in which the human body is the locus of salvation. It went to the female body, and the role of the mother in gestating and then nourishing the child, in part as a reaction to the contraceptive mindset of the day: “The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding” says it all. That LLL would erase womanhood, and thus, really, embodiment, from its mission, is to undermine its very foundation. It should change its name, or just close its doors. Makes me weep.
When will it stop? When will normal people who are, in fact, in touch with reality, stand up and say enough is enough. Ludicrous is not a strong enough word when it comes to this stupidity. We are descending into Hell by degrees driven by the the inmates from the asylum.
" ...the organization .has been hijacked." A motto for our times: the ACLU, National Organization for Women, Human Rights Campaign, National Center for Lesbian Rights and so many others, throwing girls and women under the bus in deference to gender ideology and the insane idea that males become female by "identifying" as such. Any conflict between trans activists and actual females is resolved in favor of the former, the latter barely getting a hearing.
La Leche League was an important part of my life during the years I nursed my four children. I learned so much from the leaders and the other mothers, and even became a LLL leader myself. But the organization changed over the years. When my own daughter became a mother, she decided not to go to LLL meetings, and I completely agreed with her decision because by then, many of the chapter leaders and attendees had become anti-vaxxer activists. Without LLL's guidance, my daughter successfully nursed three babies. I felt sorry that she couldn't enjoy the camaraderie and rich experience that I did, but I did not want her endangering the health of her babies with unvaccinated children present at the meetings. And now with this ridiculous change, I just can't imagine what they are thinking. My daughter and I shake our heads at the term "chestfeeding." What is this world coming to?
The term "chest feeding" doesn't even make sense. You know what we call it when men get cancer of their "chest" tissue? Breast cancer. If they wanna argue that men can breastfeed, we can argue. But call it breast feeding.
This old lady hit send before finishing the comment! The bottom line is… La Leche League was an organization that proved that natural, traditional mothering was best for babies and families. They helped me to see that as a young mom and to see how foolish today’s “woke progressives” are.
When I learned to breastfeed with the help of La leche League in the 1970’s, the organization was fighting to bring back a lost “womanly art.” The mostly male medical profession had convinced everyone by the middle of the 20th century that breastfeeding was old fashioned, not scientific and not best for babies. Those women who started the group would be seen today as very conservative and traditional because the “modern” women were bottle feeding. The science finally caught up and reversed itself on what was best for babies and breastfeeding returned. I didn’t think La Leche League survived because the professionals took over as the breastfeeding the 70’s, womestartedbut the medical establishment and the science caught on
Why this constant drive to take away the things that literally can only be done by a female body? My mom was a LLL leader in the 70’s, when there was little support for breastfeeding. I remember our phone ringing off the hook the weeks she was assigned to phone support and she would spend a long time talking to each mom and helping them with difficulties. It’s sad this organization had abandoned the mothers who need them.
It's confusing and disheartening that so many feminists have bought into gender ideology. The main effect is to erase women by claiming "Transwomen are women." No they aren't. Women are biologically different from men. Their privacy and safety are compromised when men are allowed into women's bathrooms, changing rooms, rape support groups, shelters, sports, prisons and LLL classes. Why many of those who fought for women's rights can't see this is a mystery to me.
Did anyone ask the people attending these meetings whether or not they want, or are uncomfortable with, men (people born with a penis) to also attend the meetings? Why does it seem the rights of the few override the rights of the many? Are some people more equal than others?
“Chest feeding” is basically a method for men who are unable to find or talk to a woman to “groin feed” at lactating women’s expense by denying the opportunity for women who are looking for an outlet to discuss breastfeeding and learn techniques in a safe environment in the name of social justice. And you wonder why many people have decided not to have children? It’s not just economics, it is a failing culture as well.
In this case, just like many other instances of the mass mental illness known as wokeism destroying something useful, you need to employ what Nancy Reagan used to say: “just say no.” If La Leche doesn’t reverse this insane and unsafe policy, women need to walk away or mount a coup to oust the board of directors and fire management. Leftism destroys everything it touches; don’t ever forget it.
Bethany, this is one of the most disturbing articles I’ve read recently. I joined La Leche League back in 1972 when I was pregnant with my son. I even had the pleasure of meeting some of the original founding La Leche mothers.
I cannot imagine having the same experience in La Leche had there been men at those meetings. La Leche was such a supportive environment that I stayed on for almost 17 years. I became a co-leader for the New Haven chapter which provided me with opportunities to give in service workshops to the doctors and nurses at Yale, speak at various local colleges And become liaison for mom’s whose babies were in newborn intensive care. Not once in all of those years, did I ever see a man who was breast-feeding? The idea that men are going to breast-feed is absolutely ludicrous. I am so disappointed that La Leche would fall prey to this level of ridiculousness.
Thank you for reporting on this. I can’t understand how such a female centered organization can turn so anti-female. Giving birth and breastfeeding children are the most sacred womanly things that exist.
Two of the hormones that male patients take would be harmful to the nursing child. Domperidone is illegal in the US specifically because it can be harmful if women take it and it passes through the milk to the child. Males who wish to produce breast fluid illegally import domperidone from abroad. They also take take spironolactone, which has caused a baby boy's genitals to develop abnormally. It would be unethical to test this regimen in a clinical setting. I can't believe that there are health professionals supporting it.
UW medicine supports it. I saw a lovely research poster about it. I asked if there was an IRB involved. Of course not. Silly me, thinking neonates might qualify as “vulnerable”.
Not only is Domperidone illegal, it's the text book example of what NOT to allow nursing mothers to use.
"Use of a drug with a significant adverse effect in a lactating woman (such as an arrhythmia) may be acceptable to treat a serious illness in the mother; however, use of the same drug to increase milk production would not be acceptable."
There are a few case studies of male patients who induced breast fluid. One of them even has a section acknowledging that the risk to the nursing infant needs to be weighed against the benefit of the parent (whatever that is - bonding and affirmation). "it is important to inform and counsel patients using anti-androgen agents who wish to pursue lactation induction about the potential impact of these medications on the genital development of the newborn." It's caused a baby boy's genitals to develop abnormally in a case where a mother used the drug.
The male patients don't produce much fluid either. In one case study, the patient only produced up to about a half a teaspoon of fluid a day, and that was after taking hormones for months and using a breast pump daily for hours.
I'm also concerned that the suckling action itself is harmful to the baby. Soothing and suckling are different things. If an infant is trying to feed, it's important that it receives some nourishment for the effort.
I am named for Dr. Gregory White, who helped deliver me, husband of Mary White, one of LLL’s foundresses. My mom was at the 1971 convention and met Princess Grace. She was for years a LLL lactation consultant. To this day I am friends with the children and grandchildren of Greg and Mary White. LLL was not just some offshoot of the hippie movement. It stemmed from a profound Catholic anthropology, in which the human body is the locus of salvation. It went to the female body, and the role of the mother in gestating and then nourishing the child, in part as a reaction to the contraceptive mindset of the day: “The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding” says it all. That LLL would erase womanhood, and thus, really, embodiment, from its mission, is to undermine its very foundation. It should change its name, or just close its doors. Makes me weep.
When will it stop? When will normal people who are, in fact, in touch with reality, stand up and say enough is enough. Ludicrous is not a strong enough word when it comes to this stupidity. We are descending into Hell by degrees driven by the the inmates from the asylum.
When we realize it's a collective illusion created by a small group of ninnies.
" ...the organization .has been hijacked." A motto for our times: the ACLU, National Organization for Women, Human Rights Campaign, National Center for Lesbian Rights and so many others, throwing girls and women under the bus in deference to gender ideology and the insane idea that males become female by "identifying" as such. Any conflict between trans activists and actual females is resolved in favor of the former, the latter barely getting a hearing.
La Leche League was an important part of my life during the years I nursed my four children. I learned so much from the leaders and the other mothers, and even became a LLL leader myself. But the organization changed over the years. When my own daughter became a mother, she decided not to go to LLL meetings, and I completely agreed with her decision because by then, many of the chapter leaders and attendees had become anti-vaxxer activists. Without LLL's guidance, my daughter successfully nursed three babies. I felt sorry that she couldn't enjoy the camaraderie and rich experience that I did, but I did not want her endangering the health of her babies with unvaccinated children present at the meetings. And now with this ridiculous change, I just can't imagine what they are thinking. My daughter and I shake our heads at the term "chestfeeding." What is this world coming to?
The term "chest feeding" doesn't even make sense. You know what we call it when men get cancer of their "chest" tissue? Breast cancer. If they wanna argue that men can breastfeed, we can argue. But call it breast feeding.
This old lady hit send before finishing the comment! The bottom line is… La Leche League was an organization that proved that natural, traditional mothering was best for babies and families. They helped me to see that as a young mom and to see how foolish today’s “woke progressives” are.
When I learned to breastfeed with the help of La leche League in the 1970’s, the organization was fighting to bring back a lost “womanly art.” The mostly male medical profession had convinced everyone by the middle of the 20th century that breastfeeding was old fashioned, not scientific and not best for babies. Those women who started the group would be seen today as very conservative and traditional because the “modern” women were bottle feeding. The science finally caught up and reversed itself on what was best for babies and breastfeeding returned. I didn’t think La Leche League survived because the professionals took over as the breastfeeding the 70’s, womestartedbut the medical establishment and the science caught on
Why this constant drive to take away the things that literally can only be done by a female body? My mom was a LLL leader in the 70’s, when there was little support for breastfeeding. I remember our phone ringing off the hook the weeks she was assigned to phone support and she would spend a long time talking to each mom and helping them with difficulties. It’s sad this organization had abandoned the mothers who need them.
This has gone too far.
It's confusing and disheartening that so many feminists have bought into gender ideology. The main effect is to erase women by claiming "Transwomen are women." No they aren't. Women are biologically different from men. Their privacy and safety are compromised when men are allowed into women's bathrooms, changing rooms, rape support groups, shelters, sports, prisons and LLL classes. Why many of those who fought for women's rights can't see this is a mystery to me.
Did anyone ask the people attending these meetings whether or not they want, or are uncomfortable with, men (people born with a penis) to also attend the meetings? Why does it seem the rights of the few override the rights of the many? Are some people more equal than others?
“Chest feeding” is basically a method for men who are unable to find or talk to a woman to “groin feed” at lactating women’s expense by denying the opportunity for women who are looking for an outlet to discuss breastfeeding and learn techniques in a safe environment in the name of social justice. And you wonder why many people have decided not to have children? It’s not just economics, it is a failing culture as well.
In this case, just like many other instances of the mass mental illness known as wokeism destroying something useful, you need to employ what Nancy Reagan used to say: “just say no.” If La Leche doesn’t reverse this insane and unsafe policy, women need to walk away or mount a coup to oust the board of directors and fire management. Leftism destroys everything it touches; don’t ever forget it.
The 2020s... The decade men eradicated women.
Bethany, this is one of the most disturbing articles I’ve read recently. I joined La Leche League back in 1972 when I was pregnant with my son. I even had the pleasure of meeting some of the original founding La Leche mothers.
I cannot imagine having the same experience in La Leche had there been men at those meetings. La Leche was such a supportive environment that I stayed on for almost 17 years. I became a co-leader for the New Haven chapter which provided me with opportunities to give in service workshops to the doctors and nurses at Yale, speak at various local colleges And become liaison for mom’s whose babies were in newborn intensive care. Not once in all of those years, did I ever see a man who was breast-feeding? The idea that men are going to breast-feed is absolutely ludicrous. I am so disappointed that La Leche would fall prey to this level of ridiculousness.
Maggie Palmierii
Thank you for reporting on this. I can’t understand how such a female centered organization can turn so anti-female. Giving birth and breastfeeding children are the most sacred womanly things that exist.
Is "chest feeding" by natal males even safe for the infants. What research has been done on the safety of artificially stimulated lactation?
Two of the hormones that male patients take would be harmful to the nursing child. Domperidone is illegal in the US specifically because it can be harmful if women take it and it passes through the milk to the child. Males who wish to produce breast fluid illegally import domperidone from abroad. They also take take spironolactone, which has caused a baby boy's genitals to develop abnormally. It would be unethical to test this regimen in a clinical setting. I can't believe that there are health professionals supporting it.
https://www.fda.gov/drugs/information-drug-class/fda-talk-paper-fda-warns-against-women-using-unapproved-drug-domperidone-increase-milk-production
UW medicine supports it. I saw a lovely research poster about it. I asked if there was an IRB involved. Of course not. Silly me, thinking neonates might qualify as “vulnerable”.
Not only is Domperidone illegal, it's the text book example of what NOT to allow nursing mothers to use.
"Use of a drug with a significant adverse effect in a lactating woman (such as an arrhythmia) may be acceptable to treat a serious illness in the mother; however, use of the same drug to increase milk production would not be acceptable."
https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/132/3/e796/31630/The-Transfer-of-Drugs-and-Therapeutics-Into-Human?autologincheck=redirected
Thank you for your comments. Important stuff! Sounds like something TFP ought to look into.
IMHO the whole trans movement has gone off the rails. The medical mandate "first do no harm" has been abandoned.
There are a few case studies of male patients who induced breast fluid. One of them even has a section acknowledging that the risk to the nursing infant needs to be weighed against the benefit of the parent (whatever that is - bonding and affirmation). "it is important to inform and counsel patients using anti-androgen agents who wish to pursue lactation induction about the potential impact of these medications on the genital development of the newborn." It's caused a baby boy's genitals to develop abnormally in a case where a mother used the drug.
The male patients don't produce much fluid either. In one case study, the patient only produced up to about a half a teaspoon of fluid a day, and that was after taking hormones for months and using a breast pump daily for hours.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13006-024-00624-1
I'm also concerned that the suckling action itself is harmful to the baby. Soothing and suckling are different things. If an infant is trying to feed, it's important that it receives some nourishment for the effort.