Trevor MacDonald (health researcher)

Trevor MacDonald (born 1985) is a Canadian transgender health researcher and author in the field of LGBTQ lactation and infant feeding. He is the first female-to-male transsexual to have been accredited as a leader with the breastfeeding support organization, La Leche League.

Trevor MacDonald
Born1985 (age 34–35)
Canada
OccupationAuthor
Notable work
Where's the Mother? Stories from a Transgender Dad
Websitewww.milkjunkies.net

Life

Having been assigned female at birth, MacDonald transitioned to male by taking testosterone and undergoing chest surgery. When he and his partner decided to start a family, on advice from a doctor, MacDonald stopped hormone therapy and was able to become pregnant. Although MacDonald did not plan to breastfeed and assumed it would not be possible, he decided to try after learning that "even a small amount of milk could be really valuable to my baby," and that "breastfeeding is about more than the milk. It can be a relationship too and a whole way of parenting."[1]

Career

Application for La Leche League leadership

Before his child was born, MacDonald sought peer-to-peer support from his local chapter of La Leche League (LLL), the international breastfeeding organization. He was later asked to assume a volunteer leadership position. However, La Leche League Canada (LLLC) rejected his query, saying "the topic has never arisen in the 56-year history of our organization"[2] and "since an LLLC leader is a mother who breastfed a baby, a man cannot become an LLLC leader."[3][4]

The board of La Leche League International (LLLI) reviewed the policy,[5] citing its mandate to be a "nondiscriminatory service organization." A year later, they revised their policy to allow leaders to serve no matter their gender.[6] LLLI spokesperson Diana West commented, “It was thought that only women could breastfeed. Once it became clear it wasn’t as straightforward as that, the policy had to change. We’re just trying to be on the right side of history. Yes, we took a year to do it, but we did it in a way that was fair and unequivocal.”[7]

In 2016, MacDonald became the first-ever transgender man to be accredited as a La Leche League leader. LLLI said in a statement to other leaders: "We recognize that any breastfeeding parent, regardless of whether they self-identify as a mother or father, should be - and is now - welcome to investigate LLL Leadership. There are other prerequisites that a potential Leader needs to satisfy, but being a woman isn't one of them.”[8]

Research

In 2014, MacDonald formed a research team[9] through the University of Ottawa which obtained funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to conduct qualitative research about transmasculine individuals' experiences of pregnancy, birthing, and feeding their newborns.[10]

The group's research paper, "Transmasculine individuals’ experiences with lactation, chestfeeding, and gender identity: a qualitative study,"[11] contains the first known use of the word "chestfeeding" in the title of an academic paper,[12] which is a term preferred by some transmasculine individuals to describe their lactation and nursing relationship.[13] The paper is in the top 1% of the most-viewed academic research papers of all time.[14]

MacDonald says “There is this assumption that goes along with the ‘born in the wrong body’ narrative, that if you are a trans guy you would want a hysterectomy and never use your body to carry a pregnancy.”[9] He noted that none of the participants' surgeons discussed the potential for future chestfeeding before performing top surgery, and that “the range of experiences and showing more nuance, more complexity, about transgender lives is what is most important in this study."[12]

Community organization

In 2012, MacDonald founded the international support group, "Birthing and Breast or Chestfeeding Trans People and Allies".[15] The group currently has over 1700 members.[16]

Midwifery care for trans clients

In 2015, several commentators claimed that MacDonald, who was attended by midwives during his pregnancies, had forced the Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA) to stop using gendered language such as "mothers" and "pregnant women."[17][18][19] However, Snopes reported that while MANA did change some of the language in their core materials to clarify they welcomed transgender and cisgender clients in their scope of practice, those decisions were based on their own standards of care, inclusion, and position on gender identity, and not due to pressure from MacDonald or any other trans people.[20]

Following MANA's announcement, a group of midwives penned an open letter to MANA protesting what they viewed as "the erasure of women from the language of birth."[21] MacDonald wrote a response in the Huffington Post[22] saying that "trans, genderqueer and intersex people have been giving birth for as long as women-identified people have" and "it is possible to be inclusive."[22] Several other associations of midwives subsequently issued statements supportive of MANA and gender nonconforming clients.[23][24][25][26]

Works

MacDonald has written for The Guardian, The Advocate,[27] the Huffington Post,[28] Out Magazine, This Magazine, and blogs at www.milkjunkies.net. He is a public speaker about transgender people and reproductive health, including lactation.[29][30][31]

He is first author on the first peer-reviewed medical research article on the subject of transmasculine infant chestfeeding.[11]

MacDonald is the author of a tip sheet for volunteer leaders who are providing support to transgender, transsexual, and genderfluid individuals who wish to nurse their babies[32] and was profiled in La Leche League International's magazine, Breastfeeding Today.[33]

MacDonald's 2016 biography, "Where's the Mother? Stories from a Transgender Dad,"[34] has been added to the required reading list for Doula Trainings International, who commented that the book is "eye-opening for new and seasoned doulas alike."[35] It was reviewed by Publishers Weekly as "frank, clever, and easy to process ... a refreshing and insightful narrative."[36] The work has also received coverage in The New York Times,[37] The Guardian,[9] The Toronto Star,[15] Buzzfeed,[38] Gay Star News,[39] Metro UK,[40] The Advocate,[41] Rewire,[42] and on the Canadian Television Network's national newscast.[43]

gollark: Maybe just geographical area.
gollark: If they are somehow blocking them, I wonder how protest videos are being detected...
gollark: I doubt people just stopped making protest videos.
gollark: Neither of the candidates in the American election seem any good, honestly.
gollark: Um. That sounds like it would probably lead to increasingly bad problems, not solve them.

References
  1. "Manitoba father who breastfeeds shares story to promote tolerance". CBC News. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  2. "LLLC Statement" (PDF). La Leche League Canada. August 23, 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  3. Tapper, Josh (19 August 2012). "La Leche League Canada rejects breastfeeding dad's bid to become lactation coach". Toronto Star. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  4. Ligaya, Armina (August 20, 2012). "Transgender father says breastfeeding support group rules unfairly bar him from becoming a leader". National Post. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  5. Ring, Trudy (26 August 2012). "La Leche League to Consider Transgender Leaders". The Advocate. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  6. "LLLI | Breastfeeding Counsellor Eligibility Criteria 21 April 2014". www.llli.org. Retrieved 2016-08-30.
  7. Tapper, Josh (April 25, 2014). "Transgender man can be breastfeeding coach". Toronto Star. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  8. MacDonald, Trevor. "Proud to be a New La Leche League Leader!". Milk Junkies. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  9. Kassam, Ashifa. "Breastfeeding as a trans dad: 'A baby doesn't know what your pronouns are'". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  10. MacDonald, Trevor; Noel-Weiss, Joy; West, Diana; Walks, Michelle; Biener, MaryLynne; Kibbe, Alanna; Myler, Elizabeth (16 May 2016). "Transmasculine individuals' experiences with lactation, chestfeeding, and gender identity: a qualitative study". BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. 16 (1): 106. doi:10.1186/s12884-016-0907-y. PMC 4867534. PMID 27183978.
  11. MacDonald, Trevor (16 May 2016). "Transmasculine individuals' experiences with lactation, chestfeeding, and gender identity: a qualitative study". BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. 16 (1): 1471–2393. doi:10.1186/s12884-016-0907-y. PMC 4867534. PMID 27183978.
  12. de la Cretaz, Britni. "What It's Like to Chestfeed: The many obstacles trans men and other transmasculine people run into when feeding infants". The Atlantic. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  13. Lindsay, Kathryn (2016-08-24). "How Do Trans Men Breastfeed Their Babies?". cosmopolitan.com. Retrieved 2016-08-28.
  14. "Altmetric – Transmasculine individuals' experiences with lactation, chestfeeding, and gender identity: a qualitative study". www.altmetric.com. Retrieved 2016-08-28.
  15. Weikle, Brandie (May 19, 2016). "Transgender dad shares his comforting path to pregnancy". The Toronto Star. p. T6.
  16. Hempel, Jessi. "My Brother's Pregnancy and the Making of a New American Family". TIME.com. Retrieved 2016-09-03.
  17. Jesse, Michelle (September 29, 2015). "Transgender dad offended by "pregnant women"". Allen B. West. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  18. LaCapria, Kim. "Belaboring the Point". Retrieved 2016-08-28.
  19. "'Trans Dad' Offended by 'Mothers' and 'Pregnant Women'". 2015-09-30. Retrieved 2016-08-28.
  20. LaCapria, Kim. "Belaboring the Point: Midwifery groups are starting to include transgender patients, but not under any pressure from "offended" trans people". snopes.com. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  21. "Open Letter to MANA – Sign-On". 2015-08-20. Retrieved 2016-08-28.
  22. MacDonald, Trevor (15 September 2015). "Transphobia in the Midwifery Community". huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  23. Canadian Association of Midwives (September 2015). "A Statement on Gender Inclusivity & Human Rights" (PDF). Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  24. "Response to the Open Letter to MANA". Birth for Every Body. Retrieved 2016-08-28.
  25. "Welcoming transgender, genderqueer and intersex people into midwifery care | Blog | Ontario Midwives". www.ontariomidwives.ca. Retrieved 2016-08-28.
  26. "CMRC Position Statement on the Use of Gender Inclusive Language" (PDF). Canadian Midwifery Regulators Council. June 2016. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  27. "Authors: Trevor MacDonald". The Advocate. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  28. "Trevor MacDonald".
  29. "LLLI 60th Anniversary Celebration - A Day of Education and Festivities". La Leche League International. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  30. "When Transgender Men Chestfeed or Breastfeed their Babies: How Clinicians Can Offer Support". Gold Lactation conference. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  31. "Trevor Macdonald". YONIFEST. Retrieved 2016-08-30.
  32. MacDonald, Trevor. "Transgender/transsexual/genderfluid Tip Sheet – General Information" (PDF). La Leche League. La Leche League. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  33. MacDonald, Trevor (May 16, 2016). "Gender Identity, Toddler Nursing, and Good Friends". Breastfeeding Today. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  34. MacDonald, Trevor (April 2016). Where's the Mother? Stories from a Transgender Dad. Dugald, Manitoba: Trans Canada Press. ISBN 9780991964505.
  35. "What Birth Workers Can Learn from Where's the Mother? Stories from a Transgender Dad: An Interview with Trevor MacDonald". Doula Trainings International. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  36. "Where's the Mother? Stories from a Transgender Dad". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  37. "Transgender man opens up about breastfeeding his sons". New York Times Live. New York Times. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  38. Strapagiel, Lauren. "This Winnipeg Transgender Dad Wrote A Book About Giving Birth". Buzzfeed. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  39. Chubb, Laura. "Trans dad Trevor MacDonald talks getting pregnant after transition following release of his memoir". Gay Star News.
  40. Scott, Ellen. "This Transgender Dad Wrote a Book ..." Metro. metro.co.uk. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  41. "7 Things that are Everything This Week". theadvocate.com. The Advocate. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  42. de la Cretaz, Britni (May 24, 2016). "Breastfeeding, Bias, and Men Who Give Birth: Q&A With Trans Activist Trevor MacDonald". rewire.com. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  43. "An Interview with author Trevor MacDonald". youtube.com. Trans Canada Press. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
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