Adoptive Breastfeeding (The Breastfeeding Debate)

Member Name: milmol

Product:	The Breastfeeding Debate
Date:	16/06/02 (425 review reads)
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Advantages: The intimacy and closeness that breatfeeding creates between mother and baby.

Disadvantages: May be difficult to establish.

Why would a women want to breast-feed a child she had not given birth to?
Well its not just the act of giving birth that makes a mother. Some women become mothers by adoption or surrogacy. I came across an article a few years ago entitled adoptive breastfeeding, the article described one women’s successful adoption and subsequent breastfeeding of her child, and although not relevant to me, I had not previously considered it possible for a women to breastfeed a child without having given birth herself and I found it interesting. I had heard that years ago, rich women would employ 'wet nurses', maids who had themselves given birth and had milk in their breasts. These women were employed to breastfeed babies to save the mother from doing it. I had never heard of a women breast-feeding a child who had not given birth herself, I spoke to the midwives in the local hospital where I was working and they too had no knowledge of the subject, so this op is for any potential adoptee/surrogate mothers or anyone who knows one.

Apart from the benefits of breast milk to the baby, another important aspect of breastfeeding is the comfort, bonding and intimacy that is created between the mother and her baby by the act itself. For some women, putting the baby to the breast is enough as nature ‘kicks in’ and takes over, for others such as adoptive mothers, lactation (the secretion of milk) may need to be induced before the baby is born. Its possible to achieve this in several ways.

Hormone therapy may be used by giving the woman oestrogen to copy the levels found in pregnancy. This can then be abruptly stopped to mimic the rapid change found after delivery, then a prolactin enhancing drug may be used along with nipple stimulation.

Prolactin is the bodies own milk-making hormone, a drug named Domperidone increases prolactin levels and can be used for this purpose. Some people may be familiar with this medication because it is also
used for other things such as treating migraines or even for indigestion. This medication is only avaiable on presciption.

A herb named Fenugreek is also claimed to help milk production although I actually feel less comfatable advocating the use of natural remedies as I am not familiar with them and feel more research would be needed by anyone contemplating using them.

Another method of stimulating milk production is by breast massage, nipple manipulation, and sucking, either by a baby or by a breast pump. Mums need to start this at the same time as the medication to stimulate prolactin.

Oxytocin is the hormone needed for releasing milk and both this and prolactin are produced by the body in response to nipple stimulation. Unfortunately, nipple stimulation is not enough to produce colostrum, the first substance delivered by the mother’s breasts after childbirth as other hormonal influences throughout the pregnancy are involved in its production. The adoptive mums milk would therefore skip this stage and will instead resemble mature breast milk.

The hormones needed to produce and release milk are not connected in any way with a women’s ability to have a child, it is therefore possible for women who have had hysterectomies to breast-feed a baby. Women also need to be aware that once their milk supply is established, they may stop having periods.

At this stage, after successfully stimulating breast milk, the mother may find she has a low supply which is not enough for the babies needs, this is where the help of artificial aids may be useful. It is possible to buy a tube-feeding device, which is not as horrendous as it first sounds. The women wears a bag or bottle which contains formula and has a thin feeding tube which is taped or held to her nipple. As the baby sucks at the breast, milk flows from the tube and allows the baby the amount it needs, at the same time the baby is stimulating the nipple and this in
turn will increase the mother’s own supply of milk. Even mothers who are unable to produce milk can successfully feed a baby in this way and therefore benefit from all the other positive aspects of breastfeeding such as the closeness and comfort, which only this intimacy can provide. For some mothers this special relationship and closeness is just as important and they may only need to supplement their own milk supply. One system available to buy is the Supplemental
Nutrition System (SNS), information about this system is available from La Leche League. This organization can also provide information and support in the form of leaflets, booklets and information videos. They also have group meetings across the country and advisors can be contacted by phone. The instructors look at parents as individuals and help them decide what is best for them and their personal circumstances.
Their web site is http://www.laleche.org.uk/


Another artificial aid is something called lact-aid, it’s a similar device to the one I mentioned earlier and is available on the internet. The web page is http://www.lactaid.com/webmap.htm#webmap

I was fortunate when I had my daughter, not only to give birth to her myself, but she came into this world with an ability to feed that was very natural to her. Being new to breastfeeding I had no experience except the books that I had read and I saw many of my friends struggle and even give up. I was lucky that my baby seemed to naturally know how to feed (and has been doing so ever since). If I had not been able to give birth to her for some reason, had I become a parent by some other means, either by adoption or surrogacy, I know I would have still wanted to breastfeed, still wanted to give her the best start in life, and still wanted the closeness that holding a child to your breast means. This op is for those women, or for someone who knows a woman in that situation. Obviously I haven’t tried it p
ersonally, but if I were in that situation, I would at least like to know that the possibility existed and where to seek more help.

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