Manitoba father who breastfeeds shares story to promote tolerance

Trevor MacDonald did not plan to breastfeed his children. After transitioning and undergoing chest-reduction surgery, the trangender Manitoba man didn't even know it was possible.

A book he read while pregnant five years ago changed that. Defining Your Own Success: Breastfeeding After Breast Reduction Surgery by Diana West convinced him it wouldn't hurt to try.

"Even a small amount of milk could be really valuable to my baby," he said. "Breastfeeding is about more than the milk.… It can be a relationship too and a whole way of parenting."

There were a few stumbles along the way to sucess, he said.

"The first time it was really, really challenging," he said. "He wouldn't latch at all."

Eventually MacDonald figured out what worked for his son, adapting his post-surgery body to facilitate feeding. He's now applying the lessons learned to his youngest child.

National project on diverse families

There are "more and more" places MacDonald can go to relate and share stories with other families going through similar experiences, he said. MacDonald created a Facebook support group for transgender parents and a blog. 

He is also part of the 1,000 Families Project, created by Toronto's Brandie Weikle. The online project will share first-person profiles of 1,000 different families to capture the changing face of families in 2015.

Stories such as MacDonald's tell other unconventional families they aren't alone, Weikle said.

"The default voice in a lot of parenting media still (assumes) that your family is headed by one mom, one dad, includes a couple of kids.… If your family doesn't look like that, it can feel a little excluding," said Weikle.

MacDonald hopes sharing his story will help the next generation express themselves and their values.

"Sharing stories about diversity is incredibly important," he said. "I want my kids to grow up in a world where they can feel accepted for being who they are."