Magatsu's note: Men & women... ok, it may freak you out but this is real. I read about it in one of medical journals but never bother to bring it up or even talk about it. Until lovely Californian, gnarlydorkette asked me for help about one post that she read it somewhere around here, AD a while ago. However when we were looking for it, She found it thru google (Gnarly, please correct my mistakes if there is any). I asked her for the permission to post the article that she found and she approved. Thanks to Gnarly 
If you notice any underline in these texts, it is links. Here it is:
I first became interested in male lactation in 1978 after reading Dana Raphael's book, The Tender Gift: Breastfeeding. Although Raphael only dealt with the subject briefly, she did say that men can and have produced milk after stimulating their nipples.
While my (now ex) husband David had no interest in nursing our son, we both were intrigued with the idea. We had just had our first unassisted homebirth and were excited about applying our positive thinking techniques to other aspects of our lives. Although Raphael had written about milk production through nipple stimulation, perhaps, we thought, David could do it simply through suggestion. He began telling himself that he would lactate, and within a week, one of his breasts swelled up and milk began dripping out. When we excitedly showed my father (a physician) David's breast he said, "Obviously there's something physiologically wrong with David." The fact that David had willed himself to do this, did not impress him. We knew, however, that this was yet another example of the power of the mind.
Still, we were not ready for David to actually breastfeed our baby. First of all, there was no need for it. I was doing just fine on my own. But more importantly, he simply had no desire to do it. After he discovered that his body had indeed been responsive to his thoughts, he suggested to himself that the lactation would stop, and within a week his breast returned to normal. The experiment had been a success.
We didn't give it much thought after that until years later when I came across a short article called "Male Lactation" by Professor Patty Stuart Macadam of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Toronto (Compleat Mother, Fall, 1996, Volume 43).
On the other hand, I think it is safe to say that women are better suited to breastfeeding than men are. They generally produce milk soon after birth, with little or no nipple stimulation. If a mother is completely out of the picture, however, as in the case of adoption, or a mother goes back to work and a baby is left in the care of its father, for some families male breastfeeding might be an acceptable alternative to formula bottles and pacifiers.
For those who claim male lactation is "unnatural," I would have to ask: how natural is canned formula from Nestle' or pacifiers made from petrolium byproducts? If milk production in men were truly unnatural, it wouldn't exist. The fact that it does, leads me to believe that perhaps male lactation is simply nature's back-up system. In any case, it's an interesting phenomenon.
Additional information:
In the news, 12/23/04: "Meet the Fockers star Dustin Hoffman is celebrating after becoming a first-time grandfather earlier this month - but the good news has led to him developing breastfeeding urges. His daughter Jenna and her husband Seamus welcomed their son Augustus into the world just three weeks ago, and doting granddad Hoffman admits the experience has given him strange desires. He says, 'I have felt almost the tendency to lactate. We don't realize, but when we're formed in the womb, we have milk glands, before we're differentiated between male or female and before God knows whether to make you male of female. When you think about it, why should men have nipples? And yet we do. I didn't think about it until I started to drip!'"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This past year I spoke about male lactation in an episode of The Most Extreme on Animal Planet. The episode was titled "The Most Extreme Dads" and dealt primarily with animals. My segment, however, dealt with humans. Animal Planet runs the episode every few months. If it airs again, I'll post information about it here.
* * * * * * * * *
The May/June 2003 issue of And Baby, a national gay parenting magazine, contains a wonderful article by Jennifer Newton Reents about fathers who breastfeed. David was interviewed for the article, and both my book and web site are mentioned. And Baby is sold in many grocery stores, as well as most of the larger bookstores.
Many more.... http://www.unassistedchildbirth.com/milkmen.htm
I naturally won't do that. It freaked me out as it is but I keep an open mind for the discussions, informations and feedbacks. I hope about the same from all of you. Thanks.
If you notice any underline in these texts, it is links. Here it is:I first became interested in male lactation in 1978 after reading Dana Raphael's book, The Tender Gift: Breastfeeding. Although Raphael only dealt with the subject briefly, she did say that men can and have produced milk after stimulating their nipples.
While my (now ex) husband David had no interest in nursing our son, we both were intrigued with the idea. We had just had our first unassisted homebirth and were excited about applying our positive thinking techniques to other aspects of our lives. Although Raphael had written about milk production through nipple stimulation, perhaps, we thought, David could do it simply through suggestion. He began telling himself that he would lactate, and within a week, one of his breasts swelled up and milk began dripping out. When we excitedly showed my father (a physician) David's breast he said, "Obviously there's something physiologically wrong with David." The fact that David had willed himself to do this, did not impress him. We knew, however, that this was yet another example of the power of the mind.
Still, we were not ready for David to actually breastfeed our baby. First of all, there was no need for it. I was doing just fine on my own. But more importantly, he simply had no desire to do it. After he discovered that his body had indeed been responsive to his thoughts, he suggested to himself that the lactation would stop, and within a week his breast returned to normal. The experiment had been a success.
We didn't give it much thought after that until years later when I came across a short article called "Male Lactation" by Professor Patty Stuart Macadam of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Toronto (Compleat Mother, Fall, 1996, Volume 43).
My interest in male lactation was piqued again when I recently received the following letter from a friend of mine.
While reading my friend's letter, I suddenly remembered my mother telling me years ago that as an infant I once tried to nurse on my father. I laughed about it at the time, yet I'm sure it is a fairly common occurrence. Babies want to be loved, nursed, and nurtured. The gender of the person doing it is not important.
On the other hand, I think it is safe to say that women are better suited to breastfeeding than men are. They generally produce milk soon after birth, with little or no nipple stimulation. If a mother is completely out of the picture, however, as in the case of adoption, or a mother goes back to work and a baby is left in the care of its father, for some families male breastfeeding might be an acceptable alternative to formula bottles and pacifiers.
For those who claim male lactation is "unnatural," I would have to ask: how natural is canned formula from Nestle' or pacifiers made from petrolium byproducts? If milk production in men were truly unnatural, it wouldn't exist. The fact that it does, leads me to believe that perhaps male lactation is simply nature's back-up system. In any case, it's an interesting phenomenon.
Additional information:
In the news, 12/23/04: "Meet the Fockers star Dustin Hoffman is celebrating after becoming a first-time grandfather earlier this month - but the good news has led to him developing breastfeeding urges. His daughter Jenna and her husband Seamus welcomed their son Augustus into the world just three weeks ago, and doting granddad Hoffman admits the experience has given him strange desires. He says, 'I have felt almost the tendency to lactate. We don't realize, but when we're formed in the womb, we have milk glands, before we're differentiated between male or female and before God knows whether to make you male of female. When you think about it, why should men have nipples? And yet we do. I didn't think about it until I started to drip!'"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This past year I spoke about male lactation in an episode of The Most Extreme on Animal Planet. The episode was titled "The Most Extreme Dads" and dealt primarily with animals. My segment, however, dealt with humans. Animal Planet runs the episode every few months. If it airs again, I'll post information about it here.
* * * * * * * * *
The May/June 2003 issue of And Baby, a national gay parenting magazine, contains a wonderful article by Jennifer Newton Reents about fathers who breastfeed. David was interviewed for the article, and both my book and web site are mentioned. And Baby is sold in many grocery stores, as well as most of the larger bookstores.
Many more.... http://www.unassistedchildbirth.com/milkmen.htm
I naturally won't do that. It freaked me out as it is but I keep an open mind for the discussions, informations and feedbacks. I hope about the same from all of you. Thanks.
, they can?... 
