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Home › Expert Q&A › Induced Lactation and Relactation › How can adoptive moms prepare to breastfeed?

Expert Q&A

 

By Melissa Clark Vickers
International Board Certified Lactation Consultant Moms & Babies Huntingdon, Tenn.

Do you have any information, or know where I can get it, on preparing a body to breastfeed for non-biological moms? I would appreciate any information you could give me! Thanks.

A woman's body is preprogrammed to make milk in response to the pregnancy and subsequent delivery of a baby -- a wonderful system! It is possible to establish a milk supply in the absence of a pregnancy, however. It basically involves convincing mom's body that there really is a baby who wants to nurse.

The breasts make milk in response to stimulation at the breast. Ideally, that stimulation comes from a warm, cuddly baby, but can be helped with a good hospital-grade pump. If you know in advance when the baby is going to arrive, you can begin pumping ahead of time. Short frequent pumping sessions will be more effective than long infrequent ones. You may not see any milk for a while, and when it starts it may not be more than a few drops at first.

There is a device that can be helpful in these situations, called a Supplemental Nursing System (SNS). It is a bottle on a string that you wear around your neck. It has two tiny tubes that lead from the bottle to your nipples, and you tape them in place. Formula (or pumped milk) can be put in the bottle, and then the baby feeds at the breast.

This device accomplishes a number of things: First, and foremost, baby gets fed. Second, because the feeding happens at the breast, the breasts are stimulated to produce milk. You can manipulate the SNS to decrease the amount of milk coming through the tubes as your breasts begin to make more milk. Third, baby learns to nurse while he's helping to establish your supply, so he isn't feeding from a bottle which requires a completely different way of sucking.

How much of a milk supply can you expect to bring in for an adoptive baby? This varies widely. Some women are able to eventually make enough milk to totally breastfeed their babies. Others are never really successful, and then others fall anywhere between those two extremes.

There are benefits of breastfeeding, even if there is not enough milk to fully sustain the baby. Skin-to-skin contact helps mom and baby connect. And if baby is getting any breastmilk at all, he will be getting at least some of the disease-fighting components.

It is important to work directly with either an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) or a La Leche League Leader who can help monitor how everything is going.

For more information on adoptive nursing, see: Adoptive Moms Can Still Be Breastfeeding Moms.

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