Is there a natural non hormone way to produce breast milk?: Adoptive Breastfeeding Adoption Group Discussion Topic

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Is there a natural non hormone way to produce breast milk?

Posted by Micale to Adoptive Breastfeeding on Jun 17, 2013 at 9:25pm | 3 Comments | Post a reply

We are adopting a baby in a month and we have been tossing around this idea. But wondering if there are natural ways to do this. We didn’t want to get into the pills or hormone stuff.

Replies

Yes!

Get the book Breastfeeding Without Birthing (it’s brand new!) by Alyssa Schnell.

Posted by mamaof2browngirls on Jun 17, 2013 at 9:59pm

Certainly! The only necessary component to inducing lactation is to stimulate the breasts, usually by breastfeeding, pumping, or hand expression. On top of that, you can *optionally* add foods, herbs, or medications to potentially boost the effectiveness of the breast stimulation.

If you’d like to check out my website, I introduce several protocols for inducing lactation that do not make use of medications: http://www.breastfeedingwithoutbirthing.com/the-basics-of-inducing-lactation.html.

To be honest, mothers who do use the medication domperidone generally make significantly more milk than those who don’t, but of course breastfeeding is so much more than the milk!!

Posted by Alyssa IBCLC on Jun 17, 2013 at 10:06pm

Absolutely!

Ask your agency for names of other adoptive parents who have been successful. I spoke with one mom on the phone after our son was born and it was helpful to hear her experiences.

To begin, I built up a support team with the lactation consultants at our local hospital. I used an electric pump to double pump (pump both sides at the same time, which was a timesaver). My best supply was 4 - 6 weeks before we brought our son home from foster care. I had worked up to 4 to 5 times a day, probably 15 to 20 minutes each time. I pumped at home and at work (I worked half-time).

My local La Leche League was also very supportive and helpful.

When our baby was home, I nursed about half-time. He also received bottles of formula at times.

I used a supplementer nursing system (plastic bottle with spaghetti-size tubes that hangs around your neck and allows the baby to get some formula along with breastmilk. We estimated he was getting about 1 to 2 ounces breastmilk per feeding. I also nursed him without the supplementer (which was a tip from another adoptive mom). It was amazing that he nursed so long even though we knew there wasn’t a huge of amount of milk. It’s more about the nurturing than the nursing.

I had a great experience even with the part-time milk supply. It was a great bonding experience. Remember feeding your baby, in any fashion, is most importantly about nurturing. It’s not a contest to see who can produce the most breastmilk and breastfeed the longest. You can bond with your baby regardless of the amount of milk produced—dads do it all the time.

Good luck!!!

Posted by Kathy 77 on Jun 22, 2013 at 7:19pm