Health experts push to swap term ‘breast milk’ with ‘chest milk’ to be more inclusive

CINCINNATI, OH (WKRC) — Some health experts are asking to substitute the term “chest milk” or “human milk” for “breast milk”, in order to be more inclusive to transgender and non-binary parents.

UK health officials officially released a statement instructing nurses at two hospitals to stop saying “breastfeeding” and “breast milk”, and instead use more gender-inclusive phrases.

The guidelines state that officials are making the effort to be more “inclusive of trans & non-binary birthing people without excluding the language of women or motherhood.”

Medically, it is possible for a transgender man or non-binary person to have a baby and create milk. Some health professionals see the language shift as a way to make people feel more comfortable.

Nurses were also encouraged to avoid the words “mothers” and “maternal”, unless specifically asked, in favor of more gender-neutral words, like “parents” and “perinatal”.

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