Contents:
- Medical Video: How long to wait for breastfeeding after ceasing misoprostol usage? - Dr. Suhasini Inamdar
- Can I breastfeed adopted children?
- How to induce lactation?
- Do you need a breast pump after you can breastfeed an adopted child?
Medical Video: How long to wait for breastfeeding after ceasing misoprostol usage? - Dr. Suhasini Inamdar
"I adopted a newborn baby, and I want to breastfeed my baby. Is it possible for me to produce breast milk if I'm not pregnant? "Maybe you or your relatives have experienced this. Then can you breastfeed adopted children? Check out the answer here.
Can I breastfeed adopted children?
The answer is yes, you can breastfeed an adopted child. Even though you have never been pregnant before. Breastfeeding without pregnancy or referred to as lactation induction may occur.
Generally the production of breast milk (lactation) is triggered by complex interactions between three hormones, namely estrogen, progesterone, and human placenta lactogen (HPL) during the final months of pregnancy. During childbirth, estrogen and progesterone levels fall, allowing the hormone prolactin to increase and start milk production.
Well, induction of lactation is a process carried out to encourage the release of breast milk even if you are not pregnant. Therefore, you still have the opportunity to breastfeed adopted children.
How to induce lactation?
The success of induction of lactation depends on the preparation process for breastfeeding. If you have months to prepare, your doctor may recommend that you take hormone therapy such as extra estrogen or progesterone. This is done to mimic the effects of hormonal changes during pregnancy. This hormone therapy usually lasts six months or more.
About two months before you start breastfeeding, you should probably stop hormone therapy and start pumping your breasts with an electric breast milk pump. This encourages the production and release of the hormone prolactin. For starters, do breast pumps 3 times a day, for 5 minutes. Add the pump duration for 10 minutes every 4 hours, at least once at night. Then increase the pumping time to about 15 to 20 minutes every two or three hours. Continue this routine until you start breastfeeding your adopted child. You can also pump your breasts manually.
In addition to breast milk pumps, stimulation of the breast can be done through your baby's suction. Breast milk is not produced from hormones related to the reproductive process, but from parts of the brain, the pituitary. This is what makes a woman who has never been pregnant still able to produce breast milk.
Baby's mouth sucking is a natural way to encourage milk production. To be able to remove breast milk effectively, the baby must be able to attach well to the breast.
Well-attached babies will:
- Open your mouth wide
- The baby's chin attaches to the mother's breast
- Most of the areola, especially the lower areola, enters the baby's mouth
- The baby's lower lip seems twisted out
- Sucking strongly with a slow rhythm and the mother feels comfortable, does not feel sore on the nipples of her breasts
If you only have a short amount of time to prepare, hormone therapy may not be the right choice. Your doctor may recommend other drugs to help induce lactation. However, pumping your breasts is still important no matter how much time you have.
Generally, after induction of lactation, breast milk production occurs 1-6 weeks later, with an average of 4 weeks.
Do you need a breast pump after you can breastfeed an adopted child?
When you start breastfeeding an adopted child, your doctor may recommend an advanced breast pump, including after breastfeeding. This is useful to help make your milk supply. Even if you successfully suppress lactation, supplementary feeding with formula milk or donor pasteurized milk may be needed, especially during the initial week of breastfeeding.
To encourage continued nipple and breast stimulation, you may need to use additional help to give donor breast milk or formula for the baby through a device attached to the mother's breast. To protect your milk supply, pump breast milk every time your baby drinks bottled milk.
