Abstract
Human milk feeding has generally been described using a heteronormative and cisnormative paradigm focusing on a mother and child dyad with the child nursing at the mother's breast and the father in a supportive role. However, there has been a paradigm shift that has emerged from the LGBTQI+ community that recognizes dynamic gender identities, gender roles, sexual orientations, and diverse family structures. Social workers can best provide support to people with dynamic and diverse gender roles and a variety of family structures. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of social work best practices, including de-sexed and gender-inclusive language, gender-affirming, and trauma-informed care in supporting lactation and infant feeding for LGBTQI+ families. This paper acknowledges and describes terminology that promotes equity and inclusivity in human milk feeding and provides examples of information and anticipatory guidance that social workers can use to protect, promote, and support human milk feeding in the LGBTQI+ community. Human milk is the gold standard for infant feeding, and social workers can use their knowledge, skills, and resources to have meaningful and positive impacts on breastfeeding outcomes. This paper provides an overview of best practices in supporting lactation and infant feeding for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, and other people with other
