Should Fathers Breastfeed Their Babies?
Believe it or Not, it Can Happen
It may be shocking, but the practice of men breastfeeding is not at all unheard of. Men can and do lactate under certain circumstances--advanced prostate cancer, hormonal imbalance, and some medications have been known to cause men to produce small amounts of milk. Some men choose to view this as a blessing, rather than a symptom to be feared.
The Pulitzer-Prize-winning anthropologist Jared Diamond was one of the first mainstream writers to tackle the subject of voluntary male breastfeeding in his 1995 article, "Father's Milk", published in Scientific American. He pointed out that under circumstances of extreme stress and starvation, men have been known to leak milk from their nipples. Could this be Mother Nature's way of insuring that infants whose mothers have died will still be fed? It's likely, according to Diamond. Evolution appears to have provided men with all physical equipment necessary to step up to the task.
In fact, some adoptive fathers, most of whom are choosing to remain anonymous because of the social stigma that may be associated with their practice, have voluntarily undergone treatment with the hormone prolactin, which is the primary hormone responsible for milk production. Along with herbal supplements, nipple stimulation, and sheer willpower, many of these men have found that they are able to succeed in breastfeeding their infants.
Some of these instances have been well-documented. A 2002 article published by Agence France-Presse documented the story of a 38-year-old man who nursed not one, but two children, after his wife's death following their second child's birth. Within the Aka tribe of Africa, male lactation and breastfeeding are commonplace and widely accepted; fathers and mothers generally exchange turns nursing their children and think nothing of it.
Men breastfeeding their children is also sometimes seen in the modern United States, where some gay or single adoptive fathers are choosing to induce lactation. This might be done using hormone therapy, with the guidance of a doctor, or it may also occur only hrough nipple stimulation and herbal supplements. Thus far, no American fathers have stated that they have been able to produce sufficient milk to exclusively breastfeed their children without formula supplementation, but it might be happening.
The practice of male breastfeeding in the United States remains deeply in the closet. Taboos associated with gender roles, homosexuality, and the breast itself tend to prevent most men from ever exploring the idea of nursing their children. Those who do generally keep their practice quiet, out of a fear of being judged socially or legally for their unusual parenting practices.
Is male nursing immoral? Is it perverted? Should it be illegal? That remains a subject of heated debate. Some fathers, including the actor Dustin Hoffman, have stated that they seem to have an instinct to breastfeed their children (or grandchildren, in Hoffman's case), and have said that they would do so willingly if they were biologically capable of it. Other fathers, when presented with a hypothetical situation, have said that they would nurse their children only if it were necessary to prevent their baby from starving to death. Some men staunchly swear that they would never breastfeed their infants, even in a life-or-death situation. The taboos of gender roles can be strongly binding.
Published by Juniper Russo - Featured Contributor in Health & Wellness and Lifestyle
Juniper Russo is a freelance writer living in the Southern US. She writes for several online and print-based publications and passionately advocates an evidence-based approach to holistic health and activism... View profile
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- Men can breastfeed, and often do. Men have all glands and ducts necessary for the task.
- Male nursing is a very controversial topic in Western culture.
- Some gay or single adoptive fathers induce lactation so they can breastfeed their children.
17 Comments
Post a Commenti am really glad to here that dads can breastfeed there babies too. i would like to know where to get prolaction, so that i to can help my wife breast feed our child? if anyone knows please feel free to contact me at Turleytimothy32779@yahoo.con
i wish my husband could experance the closeness that i get experance breastfeeding our baby.iwould help me greatdeal if he could do it for me like sarah 1977 husband is doing her the twins babies that they have what a man to do this for her and his family.i asked my husband he says if was in the wildeness and our baby need milk he do it.
i working mom and 4 kids under 2 .my husband chest was leaking a little white milk.we to the doctors he said me breastfeding our twin boys got his body to do this.plus i was 7 months pregnant twin girls.so my husband and i brestfeed our babies behind close door and he using brest pump so he express while itake of the kids,he was special pill so he can lacate .it was ahuge help for me.we love breatfeding our babies.we stoped with the boys one old same withe girls.
I had heard of the this in passing but I always thought it was a myth. It's nice to known that if push can to shove, a man could save his infant. Great write up and a very intriguing topic.
Thank you for the further responses and discussion.
As to the author, you did a great job writing up this topic and it was very well presented. Keep up the good work and I look forward to reading more of your work. Please do not think that my opinions of the subject matter are an insult to you as that is not how I intended it. Now for my opinion.
Ok it is not gender role misconceptions that keep men from breatfeeding it is the fact that it is not natural. After all men can not carry and give birth to a child and yet no one yells that it is a gender role misconception. It is nature and this goes against it. I do not want any man sticking his hair nipples in my kids mouth. I am a very open minded person but this just goes to show why the world is going to hell i a hand basket and why I am ready to move to a deserted island to keep my kids protected from this kind of crap. Oh and yes it should be illegal.
...there is no nutrition to be had ANYWHERE. And if mother is dead, that's what wet-nurses are for. Grow up.
Ok-read your article, since Mar thought better than you to post something about it in your forum thread entitled "Should Fathers Breastfeed?", rather than going on as you did about this and that. What? Did you not think that the question wouldn't be percieved as "shockingly" stupid by some, even most? How naive! On the article itself-I don't believe in evolution as you obviously do. I believe 'mankind' was created in God's image. In other words, with the ability to show love, justice, power, and wisdom, among the oh-so many other endearing qualities we were 'created' with on this earth. I didn't come from apes or a primordial soup. And men breastfeeding isn't the natural order of how we were created. Women were created to breastfeed. If my child was in danger of dying because of starvation, I'd have to rely on the resurrection God has promised will come to be. But I doubt that that situation would EVER befall any man, because if the child is starving so am I. That would mean that there
I never even knew men could breastfeed - let me rephrase that - I knew men's mammary glands were fully fully functional if stimulated physically or with hormones but I had no idea people actually put it into practice. It's pretty awesome, really.
Very intriguing subject matter.