Can Men Breastfeed?

Male lactation(Male breastfeeding)

Newborn babies of both sexes can produce milk, this is called neonatal milk. This is caused by combination of effects of maternal harmouns before birth. Breast milk production occurs in about 5% newborns and can remain till 2 months.

We can't consider neonatal milk as male lactation. Male lactation was of some interest toAlexander von Humboldt, who reports in Voyage aux rgions quinoxiales du Nouveau Continent of a citizen of the village Arenas (close to Cumana ) who allegedly nurtured his son for three months when his wife was ill.

Male mammals of many species have been observed to lactate under unusual or pathogenic conditions such as extreme stress, feeding castrated animals with phytoestrogens or animals with pituitary tumors. Hence it was hypothesized that while most mammals could easily develop the ability to lactate this does not provide the males, or the species with any evolutionary advantage. While the males could in theory improve the chance to pass on their genes by improving the feeding their offspring by male lactation, most of them have developed other strategies such as mating with additional partners. Presently only very few species are known where male lactation occurs and it is not well understood what evolutionary factors control the development of this trait.

There are several stories that human male can breastfeed. The stories include a sailor who put his son to his breast to quiet him and started producing milk; a South American peasant who sustained his child with his own breast milk during his wife's illness; and a Chippewa man who put his infant to his breast following the death of his wife and produced enough milk to rear the child.

The phenomenon hasn't stopped. In 2002, a Sri Lankan man named B. Wijeratne lost his wife and was left to care for their 18- month-old daughter. When the child refused powdered milk, Wijeratne tried something different. "Unable to see her cry, I offered my breast,"Wijeratne told a Sri Lankan newspaper. "That's when I discovered I could breastfeed."

Men posses mammary glands and pituitary glands which are vital components for lactating.

For a human to breastfeed these glands have to be activated somehow. In women this happens during pregnancy.

All men produce small amounts of prolactin during their lifetime. For example it's released after organism and may be responsible for the feeling of satisfaction and relaxation. But it's never present in large amount for men to breastfeed.

This often happens to mother who adopt children and suddenly find they can nurse. And according to some researchers there a long history of it happening in men too.