How to Induce Lactation - the Well May Not Be Dry!

In a world where breasts are used to sell anything from deodorant to sports cars, it is understandable that they don't get a fair shake when it comes to their most basic of purposes: breastfeeding. Yet, sadly, the potential of breasts goes mostly untapped. Women in other parts of the world have long been aware of the ability to start (or "induce") lactation without having given birth.

The United States is finally catching up! Americans are inducing lactation to nurse their adopted babies. Working women are taking long weekends to restart their milk production and get their babies back to the breast. Some women have even taken a break from nursing for chemotherapy treatments, and then induced lactation and reestablished a breastfeeding relationship with their child, sometimes with only one remaining breast.

What Brings It To Life?

The first step in inducing lactation is to understand the production of breast milk. During pregnancy, breasts are ordinarily prepared for lactation because of the influence of estrogen, progesterone, prolactin and other hormones that increase in a woman. The body naturally responds and the ducts within the breasts increase in size.

Upon completion of the pregnancy, the levels of progesterone and estrogen drop while prolactin increases. This results in lactation. That means: you start making breast milk!

However, without pregnancy and simply through nipple stimulation, prolactin begins to be secreted. This also prompts a signal to the brain from the breast to release oxytocin, which is the key to start the ejection of the milk (also known as the "let down reflex").

Stimu-WHAT-tion?

You may be wondering just exactly what I mean by "nipple stimulation." It's simple, really. You can begin nipple stimulation by allowing an actual baby to suckle at your breasts. However, many women choose to jump start the process with a dual-action breast pump. Many find the hospital grade pump is worth the money, when factoring in the amount of use that will be required.