Can you nurse adopted baby?

Answer 1

although i'm a total lactivist, and have nursed my two kids for 15 and 20 months, respectively, i'm "iffy" on the abreastfeeding issue. i recently posted about this to see if the motivation for abreastfeeding was clearly to provide optimal nutrition for the child or for another reason. what i discovered was that those who wanted to breastfeed did not feel comfortable with the bmom breastfeeding. so i still am like, "what's the real motivation."

historically, women have "wet-nursed" babies. this practice stems from early civilization and american slavery; and is still in practice in some parts of the world. the ideal of wet-nursing was for one purpose: to provide nutrition to a child because the natural mother could/would not due to death, illness, class structures (affluent women didn't like to nurse to avoid the ptosis, or sagging breasts). during american slavery, women wet-nursed if the mother was sold or died during delivery, or if the baby was sold to another owner. certain slaves were also designated "the mistresses' wet-nurse" and nursed the babies of the slave owners.

some attempt to equate abreastfeeding to the practice of wet-nursing, yet i find the two very different. first, the 'wet-nurse' is usually lactating naturally due to her own recent delivery or extended breastfeeding. second, the primary purpose is for that child's sustenance. in some areas in sub-saharan africa and south-america, wet-nurses are important because, 1) there is no formula, 2) the mother might be HIV+ and cannot nurse due to fear of transmission, 3) the mother is too ill or died during delivery.

hell, i'll admit that i actually offered my friend's baby some of my pumped breast-milk, because she was caught in traffic and he'd run out of milk and was screaming his head off! but even still, the motivation was HIS NUTRITION, not me bonding.

was she skeeved out? no. would she'd been if i said, "i just let your baby nurse on my breast because i wanted to bond with him to calm him down." she probably would have called the cops!

i'm rambling... so let me attempt to bring some context to this post. adoptive moms CAN induce lactation and nurse. the amount of milk and the quality of the milk might not be the same as a naturally lactating mother, hence supplementation is often required; and the motivation is slightly different than that of wet-nursing or donating milk. and the whole tube strapped to the boob is icky... sorry.

Answer 2

No offense, but I heard about this when I was adopting and it just gives me the heebee jeebies. All the same, if you can handle it, go for it.

Although my daughter was given formula, one of the other adoptive parents found out and told me that there were a few birth mothers who still visited the orphanage and their babies and shared their milk with our babies. They were mostly Chinese mothers visiting their daughters, of course. I didn't have a problem with that. Chinese women aren't noted to be drug addicts, prostitutes and alcoholics often. What a selfless act! I think that was dear and I am so thankful to them. What an awesome gift! Even if it didn't cure our children's malnutrition, rickets, celiac, etc., I'm so grateful for what they did.

What ever happened to wet nurses?

Answer 3

Yes, and unlike the others, I think it's a wonderful way for mothers and babies to bond. However, if it is too stressful for you or your body, don't do it. Having a happy healthy mom is more important.

On a side note, biological fathers AND adoptive fathers can nurse too! It takes a little more work than with adoptive woman, but... I think it's definitely something to look into. I think I could have kept nursing my son longer if someone else would have been able to take a turn now and then. ;-)

Answer 4

Yes it is possible, but I have to agree with a lot of the adoptees on this board...it is not something as an adoptive mother that I would consider UNLESS it was for the health of my child, meaning that they could only take breastmilk due to problems with formula.

Regardless of the bonding experience or the perceived health benefit of breastmilk, I think that breastfeeding should be done naturally and not artificially induced. But that is my own personal opinion.

Answer 5

Yes, it is possible to nurse an adopted baby but it does take work to get it going. The best place to get help in this is from La Leche League. Basically, it involves pumping around the same times, but there are some other specifics. I remember that you would probably need a good electric pump.

Answer 6

If you have to take hormones and pump around the clock only to produce a small amount of milk that won't sustain the baby, and sometimes none at all, then it is wrong. No offense meant to any nursing mother, but it is wrong to assume those hormones will not end up in the milk, and that it will not affect the baby. In addition, having a baby suck your breasts when you are not producing milk is only for the mother's benefit, not the baby's, and it's not pleasant to think about, bordering on abuse, considering the mother is making an infant suck her breasts only to serve her emotional need.

Answer 7

Milk is produced by the body as a result of hormones that are only present after giving birth.

However, lactation can be induced via nipple stimulation i.e. putting baby to the breast, but this can take a very long time - even then the baby would have to be supplemented with formula, as induced lactation does not produce as much milk as normal lactation.

Answer 8

Of all the things I have heard of having to do with adoption, this is perhaps the most disgusting. Yes you hear all about wet nurses, but honestly they had their own babies to stimulate milk production, they didn't use hormone therapy or try to stimulate their production by nursing another womans child.

I nursed all of my raised children and yes I agree the bond I had with them before birth was intensified by nursing, however every womans body produces the exact type of milk their child needs. A mothers body is so in tune with her childs it simply "knows" what the baby needs most in her milk. It is the perfect food for HER CHILD! Another womans milk (sorry but I have to say it) would be inferior and not perfect. It is not tailor made by mother nature for the infant that is adopted.

I think it takes a pretty twisted individual to want to do this sort of thing. It's bad enough that some women want to pretend that they actually gave birth, it is worse yet to pretend that any milk they produce will be tailored to the infant they adopt. I would have been horrified to learn that my daughters adoptive mother tried to nurse her.

Yes colostrum has those antibodies our children need to be extra protected when born, but the only way to produce the right colostrum is to be the one who gave birth to the child! They baby was not exposed to the same things that the adoptive mother was exposed to, they have been exposed to the things their mother has been exposed to, so the benefits would not be there. Common sense don't you think?

Aside from the fact that the infant will know on an instictual level that this is not their mommys milk!

Edit: I can see that someone has been busy with their little thumbs down.. too bad those don't bother me.. I mean really if a person is secure in themselves and what they believe in why would it bother them?

Answer 9

It may be possible but it is SERIOUSLY DISTURBING!

Yuk!

Edit - To all who think it's wonderful and that seems to be paps/aps: The big ick factor comes from the thought of my son having some female's (other than his mother's) breast stuck in his face. It is definitely about the adopter and not the child. It is not as though the child will not survive without breast milk, and formula may be just as good as breast milk since there IS NO CONNECTION between adoptive mother and infant. Not even if you wish it to be true!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Get a grip.

Answer 10

Yes, it can be possible. As many have already said, hormones and pumping can induce lactation.

That said....ew, ew, ew. As a nurse, I have seen adoptive mothers doing this in the delivery room right after birth, and it's seriously disturbing.
And it's not just me, my coworkers who aren't prejudiced by being adopted (I am) also think it's totally sick. I'm sorry, I know you're just wanting to 'bond' and all, but it's just wrong on so many levels. It's like a dog peeing on a tree to mark his territory...it's like the adoptive mother is trying to force the baby to be hers physically.
Very, very disturbing. Seriously.