Tory new mum clashes with Labour MP over NHS chestfeeding guidance

A Conservative MP who recently became a mother clashed with a Labour rival over NHS guidance on chestfeeding for transgender parents, in a row that highlighted how language used in parental advice can become a political flashpoint.

Shivani Raja, 31, the Leicester East MP who gave birth to her first child last month, posted an image on X of an NHS page offering advice to 'trans and non-binary' parents on chestfeeding.

"To all the women breastfeeding at 4am with no sleep, no recognition and no consideration by the NHS. Cheers to being biologically correct and politically inconvenient."

Yorkshire MP Josh Fenton-Glynn, a father, noted that she had been looking at the guidance for trans parents rather than the main page about breastfeeding, which is clearly labelled as such. "Here is the main breastfeeding page (it took 10 seconds to google (sic)). No discussion is advanced by sharing inaccurate information," he wrote.

This triggered a reply from Raja, who said: "Always nice as a new mother to be patronisingly lectured by a man about my opinion on our National Health Service legitimising chestfeeding."

She further added: "Last time I checked males AND females have breasts - it's not politically or factually incorrect to say breastfeeding. Chestfeeding is just pandering to those who are in denial of basic biology."

Fenton-Glynn pressed on, accusing her of changing her argument after being challenged. Raja replied: "Your interpretation of my tweet is one thing - what I meant is another. But you know what they say about assuming… To have the women who ARE breastfeeding (including myself) see it reduced down to chestfeeding for the sake of pandering is a lack of consideration by the NHS, imo."

The exchange underscores the broader debate over how health services describe parenting and gender-related issues, reflecting tensions that have echoes in US politics as lawmakers debate inclusive language in health policy.