(no subject)
[I'm reposting this in Sean's journal for the benifit of readers that can not access the sub forums.]
I've been doing some research on a subject that most parents know nothing about. If they did know, some would be shocked, and some would be excited by the possibility. What am I talking about? Fathers breast feeding.
It is possible, and has been observed in animals and humans. In 1992, 18 Dayak fruit bats were captured from a rainforest in the Krau Game Reserve, Pahang, Malaysia. Of the 10 mature males captured, each had functional mammary glands from which small amounts of milk were expressed. A breast is a breast. Male lactation is physiologically possible and, according to Dr. Robert Greenblatt, production in males can be stimulated by letting a baby suckle for several weeks. Indeed some human males secrete milk at birth and at puberty.
Historically, male lactation was noted by the German explorer Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt prior to 1859, who wrote of a 32-year-old man who breastfed his child for five months. It was also observed in a 55-year-old Baltimore man who had been the wetnurse of the children of his mistress.
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I was introduced to this new bit of knowledge through Dustin Hoffman, who has recently become a grandfather and he has experienced this first hand! His story has intrigue me and I wanted to know if just any father can do this, or if this is a rarity.
Jared Diamond, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Professor of Geography at the University of California, Los Angeles, wrote about male lactation in his 1997 book Why is Sex Fun?: The Evolution of Human Sexuality:
The potential advantages of male lactation are numerous. It would promote a type of emotional bonding of father to child now available only to women.....Today, many or most mothers in first-world societies have already become unavailable for breast-feeding, whether because of jobs, illness, or lactational failure. Yet not only parents but also babies derive many benefits from breast-feeding. Breast-fed babies acquire stronger immune defences and are less susceptible to numerous diseases....Male lactation could provide those benefits to babies if the mother is unavailable for any reason.
He has also wrote about male laction in his article "Father's Milk" (Discover, Feb., 1995; pages 83-87):
Experience may tell you that producing milk and nursing youngsters is a job for the female mammal, not the male. But your experience is probably limited, and the potential of biology - and medical technology - is vast....Brace yourselves, guys. Science is demolishing your last excuses. We’ve known for some time that many male mammals, including some men, can undergo breast development and lactate under special conditions. We’ve also known that many otherwise perfectly normal male domesticated goats, with normal testes and the proven ability to inseminate females, surprise their owners (and probably themselves) by spontaneously growing udders and secreting milk....Lactation, then, lies within a male mammal’s physiological reach.
Soon, some combination of manual nipple stimulation and hormone injections may develop the confident expectant father’s latent potential to make milk. While I missed the boat myself, it wouldn’t surprise me if some of my younger male colleagues, and surely men of my sons’ generation, exploit their opportunity to nurse their children. The remaining obstacle will then no longer be physiological but psychological: Will all you guys be able to get over your hang-up that breast-feeding is a woman’s job?
********************************************
Now having a better understanding, I regret my responses in the past, moments where Ally as a baby tried to reach my chest when my shirt was off and I was holding her. I would give her to Chris, thinking she wanted her mother, when she really wanted me.
Elizabeth nursed longer then Ally, she still tugs on Chris's top, wanting to. Now I wonder if it's all that wise to force a child to stop nursing before they feel secure enough to let go. Her life hasn't been a secure as Ally's was in those early years, she clings to all three of us so much more then Ally ever did. With Lij last night she insisted on sleeping right on top of him. Her need to be close to us and always nuzzling our chests has me wondering if Chris stopped nursing her too soon.
So with all this new understanding, I've begun talking to Lij about the future with our third child, will one of us, or even both of us give this a try. There is a higher possibility for Elijah nursing, then there is for me, from what our doctor says at least. His male hormone levels aren't as high as mine, his lack of chest hair would also make it an easier time for her, and with the tiny bit of breasts Elijah already has, the doctor says he would produce enough milk to support half our daughters needs. As well, my love would be bonding with our daughter just as Chris will, that is the biggest reason I think doing this would benefit us all.
Some men have a condition called "Gynecomastia" The condition is relatively common in adolescent boys, and 90% of the time symptoms disappear in a matter of months, or, as adolescence wanes, a few years later. But the remaining 10% grow to adulthood having small breasts. Lij's aren't very noticible, but they would grow slightly if we do go forward with this.
It certainly has brought about some interesting talks between us. As well, over time we have noticed my tendency to be drawn to Elijah's breasts has resulted in a bit of enlarging of his nipples, as I've read would happen over time in males if their nipples are suckled frequently. I really think Lij could nurse if he wants to and I think with the way things seem to be looking for Chris and Frank, Lij and I need to be ready in the event that Chris chooses to give us primary custody. Nursing her then would be not only a bonding benefit, but would help supplement some of her nutrition requirements. We know most people would be totally shocked still at this concept, so if we do choose to do this, I think only those that will accept it will be told.
Chris at first was confused and put off by the concept, but then as we talked, the idea that our daughter would never be stranded without any breast milk became a very big bonus. This had happened more then once with Chris and Elizabeth, she demanded the breast more then Chris could provide and for a while we had to have a wet nurse. That was a very trying for Chris, postpartum depression had set in and it's known that some times mothers don't lactate as much during this depression. Now, I think Chris is more for the idea of one of us nursing the baby as well. Espically with the fear she could go through that kind of depression again.
If you want to learn more about this subject, here are more professionals thoughts on the subject:
The "Brave New World" of
Male Breastfeeding
Jared Diamond devoting over 20 pages (pages 41-62) to the topic of male lactation in his book, Why is Sex Fun?: The Evolution of Human Sexuality.
For those of you who appreciate historical precedent, there is David Livingstone's account of male lactation in Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa.
I've been doing some research on a subject that most parents know nothing about. If they did know, some would be shocked, and some would be excited by the possibility. What am I talking about? Fathers breast feeding.
It is possible, and has been observed in animals and humans. In 1992, 18 Dayak fruit bats were captured from a rainforest in the Krau Game Reserve, Pahang, Malaysia. Of the 10 mature males captured, each had functional mammary glands from which small amounts of milk were expressed. A breast is a breast. Male lactation is physiologically possible and, according to Dr. Robert Greenblatt, production in males can be stimulated by letting a baby suckle for several weeks. Indeed some human males secrete milk at birth and at puberty.
Historically, male lactation was noted by the German explorer Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt prior to 1859, who wrote of a 32-year-old man who breastfed his child for five months. It was also observed in a 55-year-old Baltimore man who had been the wetnurse of the children of his mistress.
+
I was introduced to this new bit of knowledge through Dustin Hoffman, who has recently become a grandfather and he has experienced this first hand! His story has intrigue me and I wanted to know if just any father can do this, or if this is a rarity.
Jared Diamond, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Professor of Geography at the University of California, Los Angeles, wrote about male lactation in his 1997 book Why is Sex Fun?: The Evolution of Human Sexuality:
The potential advantages of male lactation are numerous. It would promote a type of emotional bonding of father to child now available only to women.....Today, many or most mothers in first-world societies have already become unavailable for breast-feeding, whether because of jobs, illness, or lactational failure. Yet not only parents but also babies derive many benefits from breast-feeding. Breast-fed babies acquire stronger immune defences and are less susceptible to numerous diseases....Male lactation could provide those benefits to babies if the mother is unavailable for any reason.
He has also wrote about male laction in his article "Father's Milk" (Discover, Feb., 1995; pages 83-87):
Experience may tell you that producing milk and nursing youngsters is a job for the female mammal, not the male. But your experience is probably limited, and the potential of biology - and medical technology - is vast....Brace yourselves, guys. Science is demolishing your last excuses. We’ve known for some time that many male mammals, including some men, can undergo breast development and lactate under special conditions. We’ve also known that many otherwise perfectly normal male domesticated goats, with normal testes and the proven ability to inseminate females, surprise their owners (and probably themselves) by spontaneously growing udders and secreting milk....Lactation, then, lies within a male mammal’s physiological reach.
Soon, some combination of manual nipple stimulation and hormone injections may develop the confident expectant father’s latent potential to make milk. While I missed the boat myself, it wouldn’t surprise me if some of my younger male colleagues, and surely men of my sons’ generation, exploit their opportunity to nurse their children. The remaining obstacle will then no longer be physiological but psychological: Will all you guys be able to get over your hang-up that breast-feeding is a woman’s job?
********************************************
Now having a better understanding, I regret my responses in the past, moments where Ally as a baby tried to reach my chest when my shirt was off and I was holding her. I would give her to Chris, thinking she wanted her mother, when she really wanted me.
Elizabeth nursed longer then Ally, she still tugs on Chris's top, wanting to. Now I wonder if it's all that wise to force a child to stop nursing before they feel secure enough to let go. Her life hasn't been a secure as Ally's was in those early years, she clings to all three of us so much more then Ally ever did. With Lij last night she insisted on sleeping right on top of him. Her need to be close to us and always nuzzling our chests has me wondering if Chris stopped nursing her too soon.
So with all this new understanding, I've begun talking to Lij about the future with our third child, will one of us, or even both of us give this a try. There is a higher possibility for Elijah nursing, then there is for me, from what our doctor says at least. His male hormone levels aren't as high as mine, his lack of chest hair would also make it an easier time for her, and with the tiny bit of breasts Elijah already has, the doctor says he would produce enough milk to support half our daughters needs. As well, my love would be bonding with our daughter just as Chris will, that is the biggest reason I think doing this would benefit us all.
Some men have a condition called "Gynecomastia" The condition is relatively common in adolescent boys, and 90% of the time symptoms disappear in a matter of months, or, as adolescence wanes, a few years later. But the remaining 10% grow to adulthood having small breasts. Lij's aren't very noticible, but they would grow slightly if we do go forward with this.
It certainly has brought about some interesting talks between us. As well, over time we have noticed my tendency to be drawn to Elijah's breasts has resulted in a bit of enlarging of his nipples, as I've read would happen over time in males if their nipples are suckled frequently. I really think Lij could nurse if he wants to and I think with the way things seem to be looking for Chris and Frank, Lij and I need to be ready in the event that Chris chooses to give us primary custody. Nursing her then would be not only a bonding benefit, but would help supplement some of her nutrition requirements. We know most people would be totally shocked still at this concept, so if we do choose to do this, I think only those that will accept it will be told.
Chris at first was confused and put off by the concept, but then as we talked, the idea that our daughter would never be stranded without any breast milk became a very big bonus. This had happened more then once with Chris and Elizabeth, she demanded the breast more then Chris could provide and for a while we had to have a wet nurse. That was a very trying for Chris, postpartum depression had set in and it's known that some times mothers don't lactate as much during this depression. Now, I think Chris is more for the idea of one of us nursing the baby as well. Espically with the fear she could go through that kind of depression again.
If you want to learn more about this subject, here are more professionals thoughts on the subject:
The "Brave New World" of
Male Breastfeeding
Jared Diamond devoting over 20 pages (pages 41-62) to the topic of male lactation in his book, Why is Sex Fun?: The Evolution of Human Sexuality.
For those of you who appreciate historical precedent, there is David Livingstone's account of male lactation in Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa.