The NHS has been accused of putting babies at risk by advising trans women who want to breastfeed:-

Experts today warn that newborns could be harmed by NHS-backed guidelines that say trans women can breastfeed.

A help guide linked to the controversial breastfeeding advice page says that biological men who have changed sex can increase milk production using the Newman-Goldfarb protocol.

But the procedure using the potent drug domperidone is controversial.

It is actually banned in the United States due to its side effects.

NHS leaders advise women who have trouble producing milk in some cases, as domperidone puts a baby at risk for an irregular heartbeat.

Experts told MailOnline that scientists “have no idea about the implications” and that the NHS should focus on improving access to breastfeeding rates for women.

Originally developed to assist adoptive mothers or those who conceive through surrogacy, the Newman-Goldfarb protocol has helped thousands of women increase their milk supply.

Various medications such as metoclopramide, digitalis, and chlorpromazine, as well as other sedatives, are known to increase prolactin, the hormone responsible for milk production.

But domperidone, originally a drug for the disease, is preferred because it has no potentially dangerous side effects.

The charity La Leche, which the NHS cites on its advice page, describes it as “much safer for mother and baby”.

Domperidone, sold under the brand name Motilium, is an anti-nausea medication but has been shown to increase levels of prolactin, the hormone responsible for milk production.

Current advice says doctors may prescribe domperidone or Motilium to “increase milk production,” but “only if other things haven’t worked.”

This is because “small amounts pass into breast milk”.

There is also some evidence that it can give a child an irregular heartbeat, according to a separate recommendation from the NHS.

For this reason, US health leaders have never endorsed the drug. The US medical regulatory agency, the FDA, says other serious risks include cardiac arrest and sudden death.

Only patients with severe gastrointestinal disease can receive from a special access program.

But the drug is still used by transgender American women who import them from overseas to breastfeed and breastfeed their babies.

A spokesperson for NHS England said the La Leche council link on the breastfeeding guide page is an “independent, not-for-profit support site” and the inclusion does not reflect NHS policies.

“Nowhere does it say it’s available on the NHS,” they said.

However, authorities are not sure how many women or trans women use the drug because of this.

The spokesperson also declined to say whether trans women are eligible for treatment on the NHS.

The National Institute for Care Excellence drug watchdog told MailOnline that it has no recommendations on the matter.

However, he said doctors may prescribe domperidone “off-label.” This means that it can be given to patients outside of normal use, but doctors can be held responsible for negative side effects.

The NHS Breastfeeding page links to the La Leche League charity in the “more support” section.

On this page, the charity states that trans women can breastfeed babies under the Newman-Goldfarb protocol.

Health experts told MailOnline that the NHS’ affiliation with Leche League councils was inappropriate.

“They are unlikely to produce enough fluid to keep a newborn baby alive, and we really have no idea about the consequences,” said Professor Jenny Gamble, an obstetrician at Coventry University.

She added that the NHS misunderstood its priorities and needed to do more to promote breastfeeding to those who are naturally gifted.

The NHS’s advice page for trans pages has been controversial since launch and links to more advice about vision and breastfeeding in the La Leche League.

The Leche League advises that trans women can breastfeed through a medical regimen that includes domperidone, a drug the NHS says puts babies at risk of developing an irregular heartbeat when passing through breast milk.

“The NHS should devote its resources to addressing known barriers to breastfeeding in the UK and advise transgender men about the risks and harms of mastectomy themselves and possibly their babies if they choose to become pregnant,” she said.

The NHS warns that breast-removed biological women may not be able to produce enough milk to feed their babies, and the newborn may have difficulty attaching to the nipple, depending on the amount of tissue removed.

The La Leche League has been contacted for comment.

Trans men and women have been known to produce milk in the past due to hormone intake or rare medical conditions.

However, according to some experts, it is not known whether this milk supports a newborn baby or whether it has long-term effects.

Breastfeeding by trans women is still relatively rare and only a dozen cases have been reported. Although the number has been increasing in recent years.

There are no precise estimates of the number of transgender people in the UK, and the government estimates that there are 200,000-500,000 trans people in total in the UK.†

The NHS’s advice page for transgender parents has been rife with controversy since it launched last week.

Critics called it “ideological” because the word “breast” was not mentioned, choosing the term breastfeeding instead.

Health professionals have also expressed concern about the NHS telling people to continue taking hormone-switching drugs such as testosterone while breastfeeding, although it is “unclear what effect it may have on the baby”.

Two cases emerged last month in which trans women breastfed their babies with milk taken from their bodies using domperidone.

An unidentified trans woman in the United States sparked outrage last month after she fed her wife’s newborn baby after taking the drug months before giving birth.

She wrote about her experience online, noting that she could produce “about a spoonful per breast pump/feed, which is enough to feed a newborn.”

Jennifer Buckley, another trans woman, was also criticized in Australia last month for using domperidone to produce milk to feed her son.

Mrs. Buckley, her son’s biological father, was given a hormone regimen and galactagogue (a substance that stimulates milk production) recommended by her endocrinologist.

Despite an apparently growing practice, experts and activists have voiced concerns about transgender women who produce milk.

Dr. Foteini Kakulas, a lactation specialist at the University of Western Australia School of Medicine, believes that only women produce breast milk.

“While it is possible for male breast tissue to produce anything, exactly what it is, how it resembles breast milk, whether it is healthy for the individual or the baby is unknown and has never been studied,” she said.

To me, only females in nature give lactate in mammals, so doing something unnatural is pointless.

“Finally, women have babies and nurse them.”