‘Lost All Credibility’: Sen. Roger Marshall Slams CDC’s Advice Encouraging Biological Men to ‘Chestfeed’ Infants

Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS), who is also an obstetrician with more than 25 years of experience, slammed the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for its guidance advising men who identify as women on how to “chestfeed” infants.

“As a physician who has delivered over 5,000 babies and encouraged every mom to breastfeed, it is evident the CDC has placed politics and its social agenda ahead of science and the health of newborns,” Marshall said in a statement on Thursday. 

In a section titled “Health Equity” found within the CDC’s “Infant and Young Child Feeding Toolkit,” the health organization uses the term “chestfeed” when referring to transgender and non-binary people caring for infants. In the CDC’s “Breastfeeding” section, the organization once again mentions “chestfeeding” for people who have undergone some kind of breast surgery.

Flashback — Today in Woke Nation: “CHESTFEEDING”

The CDC also addresses the question, “Can transgender parents who have had breast surgery breastfeed or chestfeed their infants?” The section elaborated that such parents can work to maximize their milk production, supplementing it with  “pasteurized donor human milk or formula, medication to induce lactation or avoiding medications that inhibit lactation, suppressing lactation (for those choosing not to breastfeed or chestfeed).” [emphasis added]. The CDC recommended these individuals work with healthcare providers to “meet the nutritional needs of the infant.”

The Daily Mail quoted several experts who criticized the CDC’s instruction for men who produce their own milk through the use of hormone drugs, one of which they suggested could be Domperidone. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notably published an advisory for the drug in 2004, warning against its off-label use to increase milk production and emphasizing that the drug is not approved for use whatsoever in the United States. 

The FDA advisory reads, in part: 

The agency is concerned with the potential public health risks associated with domperidone. There have been several published reports and case studies of cardiac arrhythmias, cardiac arrest, and sudden death in patients receiving an intravenous form of domperidone that has been withdrawn from marketing in a number of countries. In several countries where the oral form of domperidone continues to be marketed, labels for the product contain specific warnings against use of domperidone by breastfeeding women and note that the drug is excreted in breast milk that could expose a breastfeeding infant to unknown risks. Because of the possibility of serious adverse effects, FDA recommends that breastfeeding women not use domperidone to increase milk production. [emphasis added]

“The CDC has a responsibility to talk about the health risks, but they have been derelict in doing that,” said Dr. Jane Orient, executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons.

“We have no idea what the long-term effects on the child will be,” added Orient.

New York-based physician Dr. Stuart Fischer said the field of men producing breast milk is far too new.

“If it’s been tested a handful of times, how would we know the long-range effect? The short-term is one thing, but the long-term in terms of physical and mental illness,” said Fischer. “It’s an emerging field, to put it mildly.”

Marshall said that, in his opinion, “the CDC has lost all credibility and is in direct conflict with the FDA for marketing a non-FDA approved drug,” although the CDC’s page does not directly recommend Domperidone by name. 

“A biological male filled with hormones and a concoction of other drugs that have not been studied that could harm a baby should NEVER be encouraged. When will the Woke Left wake up and realize what they are doing to our country?” the senator continued. 

Marshall accused the CDC of defying science and safety and “encouraging these individuals to use Domperidone, a risky drug not legally approved or sold in the U.S.”

He continued:

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?

Marshall said his other “huge concern” is that milk produced by a man is missing colostrum, which he described as “mother nature’s nutrient dense, real mother’s milk loaded with antibodies and antioxidants that gives a moms’ protection to the vulnerable newborn.”

“And finally, the liquid produced by biological males will not provide all the nutrition or calories healthy, growing newborn babies need,” he said. 

Breitbart News reached out to the CDC, asking if the agency would like to respond to the accusations related to Domperidone or clarify its recommendations. The agency did not respond by the time of publication.

Paul Bois contributed to this story.