Lactation Induction/Adoptive Breast Feeding

 Did you know that you can self induce lactating WITHOUT being pregnant or giving birth? Me either until one of our readers (thanks Christine!!) emailed us about it after reading our Pump It Up post. It's called lactation induction or adoptive breastfeeding and it's pretty amazing. 

http://adoptionmama2012.blogspot.com/

Here is a snip-it of Christine's original email to us: 

Six years ago I gave birth to my son, but then 30 minutes later started hemorrhaging.  My blood pressure dropped to 30/10 and I had 5 minutes to live.  They labeled me as an amniotic fluid embolism.  An emergency hysterectomy and a complete blood transfusion saved my life.  

After a complete hysterectomy, Christine was unable to have children of her own. She enlisted a friend to be a surrogate and using Christine's egg, she carried and delivered a healthy baby girl. Pretty amazing, right? What's even more amazing is that Christine was able to exclusively nurse her new baby girl. You read that correctly- Christine, who was NOT pregnant with her baby, was able to produce milk and nurse.

Christine introduced us to the names of Jack Newman and Lenore Goldfarb, experts in this field. Lenore has a great website (www.asklenore.com) with TONS of information on the subject including a guide for women interested in inducing milk. Some adopted mothers are able to actually breastfeed their babies with a full supply!  Lenore personally nursed her baby (carried by a surrogate and born at 39 weeks) using this method. Her story is very encouraging and so touching. 

http://blog.hcaeastflorida.com/2012/08/01/the-benefits-of-breastfeeding/#.UOiSroVlzx

The method for inducing lactation involves a specific type of birth control, herbal supplements and lots of pumping. There is a "regular protocol" that is appropriate for mother's not expecting their baby for 6 months or longer and an "accelerated protocol" for mother's expecting their babies in 30 days or less. Christine explained to us how she got started: 

I started around 20 weeks gestation with the birth control pills, then discontinued them 6 weeks prior the due date and started pumping every three hours (I often skipped the night session). I took the Domperidone (Motillium), I think 80mg a day.  I didn't go the herbal route with the Blessed Thistle or the Fenugreek, nor did I do the lactation cookies, oatmeal, or dark beer.

Initially I only got drops, then 2 oz a day, then 4 oz a day...by the due date I was up to 24 oz a day.  Well, after she arrived my supply increased even more.  I have a full supply, an upright freezer filled to capacity...and have not used any formula supplements.  I alternate nursing and bottle feeding and have cut back on my pumping to now only 3 times a day.  I get about 9-10 oz a session too.  

 

How amazing is it that an adoptive mother (or mothers whose babies came via surrogate) can provide her OWN milk to her new baby? Baby still gets the same quality of breast milk that any other biological mother feeding their infant would receive. And both mom and new baby benefit from the bond formed by breastfeeding (although some choose to continue exclusively pumping). 

Christine's daughter is now 13 months old and is no longer nursing.  She had such a good stash of freezer milk that she was able to donate 500 oz to local twins!! I can tell by her emails that she is one proud Momma and very passionate about this topic. What an inspiration to other Mom's researching lactation induction!

If you are looking into this yourself and have questions or need support, Christine has shared a link to a wonderful support group here. This is a private group so you'll be required to apply as a user. There is also a great Q&A section on asklenore's website as well as a message board.

Has anyone else heard of this or know anyone that's tried?

PS- Just a note but why don't we start a lactation induction weight loss program? I personally lost a TON of weight when I was pumping for my first baby (working on it with #2) and Christine mentioned she lost 25 pounds and wasn't even pregnant! Are we on to something here? LOL :o)