Stages of Labor: Stage 2

Why Adoptive Parents Should Consider Breastfeeding

by Candace Wohl
Article republished with permission from Adoption.net
Original post written October 23, 2013
Posted to the ABC's of Surrogacy on April 30, 2014

Why Induced Lactation Should be Considered for Adoptive Parents

Frankly, there is nothing better than a piping hot chocolate chip cookie fresh out of the oven with a tall glass of milk. Drooling yet?  While I am enjoying the warm chocolaty bliss of my cookie and milk I am 100% certain I could care less what cow that milk came from. They have cow boobies (udders) and they produce milk. Same with human breasts, knockers, boobs, the big boppers, tatas whatever you want to call them. Now, don’t get me wrong here, if I run out of milk for my coffee I will probably not go to my neighbor who is breastfeeding and ask her for a couple of squirts in my coffee. Sorry, can’t do it. However, adoptive parents or those pursuing surrogacy should not think that breastfeeding through induced lactation is off the table for them.  Let’s take a quick quiz. Break out your trapper keeper and number 2 pencil, this one will challenge you.

--A mother who breast feeds her baby shortly after birth.
--A wet nurse who breast feeds a royal baby.
--An adopted mother who breastfeeds her newly adopted  baby.

I bet most of the general public would probably have found the first two scenarios not as off putting as the third. Why is that? I will admit, I have always wanted to breastfeed my child and after finding out I will never carry my own I thought this was no longer an option.  Just the idea of induced lactation to breastfeed my one day adopted/surrogate child made me feel mildly uncomfortable.  Really, it wasn’t the act that bothered me it was the societal view on breastfeeding. Especially in the US and Great Britain where the general population consider it taboo. What would others think? Would they think I was crazy or that this was unnatural?  This made it apparent to me that my own uneasiness was rooted in the superficial worry that society would consider my child less of my own because I adopted and that it was not natural since that child was not born from me.  I am a mother; that is my child. I have boobs and that is what they were made for, sorry fellas- big shocker they are not there for looks and just to paw at.

Surrogate or “intended” parents have lead time to work with in order to plan to nurse via inducing lactation however if you are an adoptive parent the time line is sometimes as clear as mud. They are unpredictable and in many cases adoptive parents are not given much time to prepare.  This does not count you out of the breastfeeding club.  Consider other options to help buy some time while you are waiting for your milk to come in. There are many resources available through linking up with your local La Leche League   and utilizing local milk banks and Supplemental Nursing Systems (SNS).

This will be a 3 part series so expect more scholarly info to come on induced lactation but for now let’s talk about the WHY.

Bonding

One of the most important processes when you have a baby through adoption or surrogacy is bonding with your baby. When you are nursing you have regular skin on skin contact which is a proven bonding method.  It also establishes trust and natural mother-baby intimacy that your baby needs in those beginning stages.

It is Like Couponing, but with Boobs

Now, some lucky adoptive or intended  parents may be well off so that this is not an issue, but for those who have to have bake sales, car washes, and cash out 401ks to pay for their adoption or surrogacy would like to hold on to what IOUs and spare change they have remaining from their baby pursuits.  No brainer, so sorry if I insult intelligence here but breastfeeding is $free.99. Well, there’s a pump, some vitamins, and some medications involved, but aside from that it is cheaper than formula. Baby formula can be pretty expensive and it’s estimated that one year of formula can range between $1,500 to $3,000. $free.99 verses 3k, you can put those savings back to help replenish your adoption/surrogacy drained account.

Health-tastic Milk

It is safe to say this baby was loved and prayed for before they were even created. So why not give your baby the best.  Babies who have been breastfeed have been proven to have stronger immune systems as breast milk carries positive antibodies that boosts that immune system. Possible baby Einstein? Another health benefit from breast feeding your baby is that new studies show that breastfeeding increases your baby’s IQ levels. Studies showed that cognitive abilities of preschoolers who were breast-fed scored significantly higher than bottle-fed infants, and IQ score was directly relative to how long the infants had been breastfed: IQs were 2.1 points higher in children who were breastfed for three months; 2.6 points higher when babies were breast-fed for four to six months; 3.8 points higher in children breastfed longer than six months. These specific results were published in the May 2011 issue of the European Journal of Pediatrics. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=surety-bond-breast-feeding

How to Induce Lactation for Adoptive Mothers in 3 Steps

by Candace Wohl

Article republished with permission from Adoption.net

Original post written November 21, 2013

Posted to the ABC's of Surrogacy on April 30, 2014

 

Do you want to know who I have a small chick-crush on? If I was into that kind of thing…Selma Hayek. Yes, she is in movies, sickeningly beautiful blah blah blah. It has absolutely nothing to do with what has made her a star. The reason Selma is so incredible is she has huevos. Hard boiled, not over-easy. She made headlines a few years back when she made a good will trip to Sierra Leone. She rocked the Western World newspapers and media of all sorts because she breastfed a starving, malnourished baby that was not her own. GASP!

 

Sierra Leone is a country where they have one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world. Partly due to malnutrition and poverty. Hold on, wait a second isn’t breast milk free? Why, yes it is. In some areas of this country it is traditionally unacceptable to have any sexual interactions with a woman who is breastfeeding. (Personally, I know when I hold out on my husband for more than a few days, he is a whiny baby and acts as if the world is going to spin off axis and implode, or maybe that is just what he thinks his man-parts will do.) Either way this sexual pressure from the woman’s partner is persuading the mothers to stop nursing and their milk reserve is drying up as a result. Perhaps it is poor education of anatomy or the inability to abstain. Whichever reason you feel stronger about, babies are perishing in the name of an uneducated tradition. Selma, we could all learn something from your left boob. That one small act of kindness made waves.

 

I shared that story because it inspired me. I do not plan on going to Sierra Leone to breastfeed, but I do have a much different view on nursing. Specifically as it relates to an adoptive baby or one born through surrogacy.

 

So now what? How do I produce milk if my body is not physically going through that specific change? During a pregnancy, lactation is naturally triggered by the “trifecta” of 3 key hormones: estrogen, progesterone, prolactin. In a pregnancy, estrogen and progesterone hormones are elevated and if you have ever gone through fertility procedures you know your RE loves prescribing those specific hormones. When a woman gives birth the estrogen and progesterone levels drop significantly and prolactin increases. The result, lactation. To induce lactation you have to essentially trick your body into replicating the biological process of pregnancy.

 

Step 1.

 

It is important that if you do decide to induce lactation for your adopted child or baby through surrogacy, you have to have your army of resources lined up and contacted.  First on the contact list is your baby’s doctor or your OBGYN about your plans to induce lactation. You may need a script for medication and they will also need to be in the loop to help monitor your production as it relates to your baby getting enough nutrition. Try also considering to reaching out to your local La Leche League Leader and local groups. They have a well-connected support network to help aid you throughout your nursing process and a vast collection of resources for any questions you may come across.  Finally, it could also be beneficial checking with a Lactation Consultant or Nursing Mothers Counselor.

 

Step 2.

 

Decide on whether you want to naturally induce lactation or opt for hormone therapy to help stimulate your lovely lady lumps. It is a personal decision. Naturally inducing lactation requires techniques such as massaging, nipple stimulation and suckling. The first two are fairly straight forward but, suckling? You can use a pump to help with this method or use your partner. Not sure how I feel about my partner “suckling” on my breast to help with natural stimulation, however if my milk did decide to come in during the group effort act it will be interesting to see what the surprised reaction from the male half would be. Hormonally inducting lactation requires guidance from your doctor since they will need to write you a few prescriptions to help trick your body into pregnancy mode. There are different protocols depending on the individual’s health history and provider but some of the regularly prescribed medications doctors use include: birth control pills, Metoclopramide (Reglan), Domperidone (Motilium), and sulpiride (Eglonyl, Dolmatil, Sulfite, Sulparex, and Equemote).  This is one of those situations where step 1 is a good starting point to ask these questions. Especially considering some drugs like Reglan can cause some side effects such as depression and anxiety.

 

Step 3.

 

Pump it up! I will admit when I finally worked up the gall to walk into Baby’s R Us without simultaneously busting out in tears, I was lost. Personally I have spent 7 years trying to build my family, but did not know the first thing about babies, parenting or any of the gadgets that came along with the stroller coaster. If you decided that inducing lactation is for you, picking out the right breast pump is critical. This is definitely one of the situations where you get what you pay for so don’t skimp on it.  Yeah, that other breast pump may be $50 cheaper, but if it doesn’t work right, then it is just a big hunk of useless irritation. What separates each type of pump is:

 

·       Suction power of the pump

 

·       Release and suction cycle control options

 

·       The amount of release and suction cycles in a minute the pump produces

 

There are hand pumps, where you manually pump and electronic pumps which is where you set it and forget it. Generally, the more suction and release cycles per minute the more effective the pump is. Slower cycling can be hard on your nipples, no pun intended. Some of the higher end pumps can cycle around 60 times a minute. Don’t have that kind of money to spend on a higher end pump? Problem solved, you can rent them! Many hospitals, baby stores, and pharmacies offer rental options. No need to get the heebie jeebies now, they are sterilized and are replaced with new tubing, attachments and filters. One other thing to look into if you are looking to save money is that your insurance may now have coverage for breast pumps and supplies. Isn’t that the breast news you have heard all day?