Maine men who identify as women and want to “chestfeed” a baby may be able to obtain larger-sized nursing bras if they are eligible for the federal Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) welfare program, thanks to the administration of Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, which has made a nearly $50,000 purchase of the bras for both breastfeeding and “chestfeeding” parents.
The Maine Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) notes that federal WIC benefits include “resources for growing families, including breastfeeding and chestfeeding information and support,” The Maine Wire reported Monday.
The Maine CDC states “anyone living in Maine, including migrants,” is eligible to receive benefits through the state’s WIC Nutrition Program. Specifically, Maine WIC is available to “[w]omen and birthing parents who are pregnant, breastfeeding, chestfeeding, or had a baby in the last six months”:
The Maine Wire revealed the procurement justification form for the purchase of the larger-sized nursing bras:
According to a no-bid state contract issued Nov. 1, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and Maine CDC awarded the New York-based company Nursing Naturals nearly $50,000 to buy additional nursing bras for participants in the WIC program.
The section of the form that provides details about the need for the goods states, “Maine WIC, as one of its pillars of services, supports breastfeeding/chestfeeding … A proper nursing bra is essential to support breastfeeding/chestfeeding.”
The form, which was completed to request $47,582.50 for the purchase of the bras, further justified the need for larger sizes, stating the current supplies “do not fit 80% of our participants.”
“This purchase is necessary to serve the entire population of WIC participants that cannot afford a high-quality well-fitting nursing bra,” the form reads, adding that the Nursing Naturals product line offers sizes “from small to 5XL.”
“This product line should have a size available to meet the need and fit of a greater percentage of the population of breastfeeding/chest feeding participants that are served by WIC,” the form continues.
Maine’s Democratic administration has followed along with the Biden-Harris pro-transgender agenda that led, in July 2023, to the federal CDC’s endorsement of men “chestfeeding” infants.
Following the release of the CDC “guidance” that instructed how men who claim to be women can “chestfeed” babies, Sen. Roger Marshall, M.D., R-KS, an OB/GYN, warned WMAL’s ”O’Connor & Company” audience about the dangers of the practice. Marshall said the health agency was “bastardizing” breastfeeding with its guidance:
I’m an obstetrician. I delivered a baby every day in my life – most every day – for some 25-30 years if you include residency. And breastfeeding was a very important part of that, delivering obstetrical care. It is the healthiest nutrition there is for a baby. And to see this be bastardized by the CDC and actually putting babies at risk … I’m almost speechless, to describe how upsetting this is.
In a press statement released by his office, Marshall also condemned the CDC’s “irresponsible” recommendation of the drug Domperidone as a means to produce lactation in men. The drug, he said, is “risky” and “not legally approved or sold in the U.S.”
“Domperidone was originally used to treat nausea, but because of the harmful side effects causing heart arrhythmias, it was taken off the market by the FDA in 2004,” the senator’s press statement noted. Marshall added:
This dangerous medication has serious side effects that could pose life-threatening complications for adults and more so the infant. None of this has been thoroughly studied, but we know that when you start mixing drugs, the risk of the drugs impacting the newborn baby increases exponentially. How can this possibly be considered a good idea, let alone safe for the baby?
Additionally, Marshall explained the forced liquid produced by “chestfeeding” lacks colostrum, “Mother Nature’s nutrient dense, real mother’s milk loaded with antibodies and antioxidants that gives a moms’ protection to the vulnerable newborn.” He noted as well that “the liquid produced by biological males will not provide all the nutrition or calories healthy, growing newborn babies need.”
Marshall told “O’Connor & Company” that the Biden-Harris CDC was attempting to advance a “woke agenda.”
“Why would you subject newborn babies to the threats of the side effects of these medicines, let alone inadequate nutrition?” the physician asked. “Why are we putting our woke agenda ahead of science?”
The CDC appears to have removed from its website its “chestfeeding” guidance but currently continues to refer to “chestfeeding” in the sections discussing how to manage the spread of HIV.
“HIV can pass to a baby during pregnancy, childbirth, and breast/chestfeeding,” the health agency observed last month.
In other guidance regarding the use of PrEP regimens for HIV prevention, the CDC refers to “people who may become pregnant, those who are pregnant, and those who are breast/chestfeeding.”
The Daily Mail also reported November 30 that a UK National Health Service (NHS) Trust that had claimed men could “chestfeed” babies “has performed a U-turn after outrage from campaigners.”
A leaked letter from University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust claimed milk from women who gave birth to babies and men who took hormone drugs to induce lactation are both “human milk” and “ideal food for infants.”
“But amid mounting pressure to review the controversial policies, the Trust now insists its guidance was never intended to encourage trans women to ‘chestfeed,’” the news outlet reported, adding that officials at the Trust said: “The Trust is not aware of any instances where trans women/biological men have expressed a wish to be helped to feed their partner’s child.”
