~This post is intended for those interested in induced lactation and breastfeeding~
Breastfeeding has always been a normal, comfortable and interesting topic for me. My mom always told us about her breastfeeding relationships with her three children and how disappointing it was when we all weaned ourselves and became wildly independent individuals.
There was no doubt in my mind that I would breastfeed my future children, and the closer I got to starting my family, the more I wanted to learn about it, and the more I learnt about it the longer I wanted my breastfeeding relationships to last with my future babies.
So here are some facts about breast-milk. Human breast-milk is an amazing thing as it has the perfect combination of proteins, fats, vitamins, and carbohydrates. Leukocytes are living cells that are only found in breast milk. They help fight infection. It is the antibodies, living cells, enzymes, and hormones that make breast milk ideal. These cannot be added to formula. Milk produced from women who have induced lactation is the same quality as milk produced from women who have lactated naturally after pregnancy and giving birth to their child. The only real difference is that women who have induced lactation don’t produce colostrum, which is generally linked to having a placenta calling the shots.
Though some women ultimately are not able to breastfeed, many who think and or are led to believe that they cannot actually are able to breastfeed. Lactation consultants are able to provide support to women learning to breastfeed and for those hoping to induce lactation for adoption. For those who are not able to breastfeed, milk banks or donor milk may be an alternative (1).
I was heart broken initially when we gave up on fertility treatments thinking that my dream of breastfeeding my children was now something I would have to give up on as well. Luckily I saw adoptive breastfeeding come up a few times in an adoption support group that I’m a part of on Facebook, and was encouraged to read the book Breastfeeding Without Birthing by Alyssa Schnell, which if you’re interested in purchasing you can find it here, and I can assure you that it is an incredible resource. I also spent a lot of time on the Ask Lenore Website gathering information and deciding which protocol would be best for me. There are plenty of breastfeeding groups (Adoptive Breastfeeding) and pages (such as The Milk Meg) on Facebook too which are valuable resources and the support from other members is absolutely incredible.
For the last 8 months I have been following the Newman Goldfarb Protocol which involves a long preparation period of Birth-control and Domperidone and also would give me the most time between starting the protocol and actually pumping. I knew that some would think its strange to get started on inducing lactation without having a match yet, but my goal is to create a good freezer stash so that if we do get a match and I’m not producing a full supply at the very least I can use an at breast supplementing system with my own breast milk. This plan isn’t for everyone but it certainly feels like the right plan for me and will hopefully make me feel productive through what may be an excruciating wait to be a mom.
For the last 8 months I have been taking Demulen 1/35 (1 mg norethindrone + 0.035 mg ethinyl estradiol) to prepare my breast tissue to lactate and will be beginning the pumping part of the protocol in the next two weeks. I’m getting nervous the closer I get to my pumping days, I will keep you all in the know on how things are progressing – Stay Tuned!
If you have any questions on the protocol I’ve been following or on adoptive breastfeeding, donor milk, wet nursing, or breastfeeding in general feel free to leave a comment and I will do my best to get an answer for you!
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article sponsered by Northern Michigan certified lactation consulting and Mother Hubbards Country Cupboard
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