Inducing Lactation: Men Can Breastfeed Too!
Why do men have nipples? Well, the answer to that is, men actually CAN breastfeed, chestfeed, or bodyfeed!
Because the term breastfeeding has traditionally been associated with a cisgender female feeding an infant from the breast, transgender and non-binary individuals are leading the way toward using more inclusive language when discussing feeding infants with human milk. In particular, some transgender males may prefer using the terms chestfeeding or bodyfeeding to discuss this process, since these terms are more gender neutral and less likely to trigger gender dysphoria.
There’s anthropological evidence documented of male chestfeeding, especially after the mother fell ill or died. In these documented cases, before there was the option of formula and, in some cases, no access to wet-nurses, the father would hold the baby to his breast and after enough nipple stimulation he would produce milk. The Agence France-Presse reported in 2002 that a 38-year-old Sri Lanka father nursed his two daughters after his wife died during the birth of their second child. Some modern-day doctors argue that this isn’t possible with most men and these documented cases must have been men with pituitary tumors causing them to have a spike in hormones after the baby starts suckling and therefore inducing lactation.
Modern day doctors tend to suggest a combination of hormone therapy or medication and nipple stimulation to induce lactation in men and women becoming parents via surrogacy or adoption. If you look into how much breastfeeding education doctors, even pediatricians, receive during medical school in the United States, you’ll find the answer is almost always 0 hours!
While lactation typically begins during pregnancy, being pregnant is not a requirement for lactation. The lactation process is governed by several hormones, including estrogen, prolactin, oxytocin, and progesterone. These hormones are present at some level in all of our bodies, regardless of gender identity or sex at birth.
If you are personally looking to induce lactation, you’ll need to do research into which doctors are trained in inducing lactation.
Even if you were assigned male at birth, your body contains some glandular (milk-producing) breast tissue and is capable of producing breast milk. However, because a body’s natural testosterone levels may inhibit the hormone prolactin, which helps to induce lactation, a person may need to take spironolactone to reduce testosterone levels and produce milk.
If you didn’t give birth to your child, there are several ways you can start lactation. While some people choose to take medications, start hormone therapy, or use herbs to stimulate lactation, the primary requirement for inducing lactation is to continually stimulate the breasts, even when there is not yet any breast milk to be emptied.
A favorite product to mimic breastfeeding, or help with inducing lactation, and increasing milk supply is the supplemental nursing system. The baby’s suckling will provide nipple stimulation and the pouch and tube will deliver formula or breastmilk to the baby if the mother or father isn’t producing milk or enough milk. This is a way men and women can feed without producing milk or while not producing a full supply. It’s a great bonding tool!
We would love to refer you to great lactation consultants if you are interested in learning more. Want to learn more about surrogacy and how we can assist? Sign up for a free consultation appointment today!