Inclusive Lactation Support for LGBTQ Parents

At Milk Stork, we talk a lot about diversity, equity, and inclusion. It’s top of mind for the 870+ companies we work with that know breast milk shipping is more than just a “nice-to-have”—it can make a world of a difference for work travel or parents planning their return from parental leave.

When it comes to inclusive family benefits, most people talk about fertility benefits and paid parental leave. But all too often, surrogacy and adoption are missing from the conversation.

No one knows this better than LGBTQ couples ready to start a family, only to find out that their company’s fertility coverage has limited use cases, denying them access to their own family benefits.

We believe that a family is a family, no matter how you build it. No two journeys to parenthood are the same, and that’s why Milk Stork advocates for employers to expand their inclusive family benefits by offering breast milk shipping.

The foundation of diversity, equity, and inclusion is about seeing people, understanding their experience, and supporting them to be the people they want to be.

When companies offer free breast milk shipping for their employees, they also support LGBTQ parents by giving them access to more feeding choices. These feeding options include:

1. Breast/chestfeeding.
2. Inducing lactation in one or both parents.
3. Milk supplied by the gestational surrogate or birth parent
4. Milk sharing or donation
5. Formula

Most LGBTQ parents opt for a combination of feeding options that best suits their family’s needs, usually supplementing with formula. And as we saw with the recent formula crisis, having access to multiple feeding options is more important now than ever.

Broadening the scope of family benefits means that employers are able to meet the needs of a more diverse talent pool, which also makes it easier to attract and retain top talent.

For more transgender and non-binary lactation resources and support from La Leche League International, click here.