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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Can Males Produce Breast Milk?

I am a 23 year old man who wants to be able to help his wife with breastfeeding our child because we already know of some times when she won t be capable of feeding due to medications she will end up having to take and so on. I know that it is possible for men to produce breast milk, we have the glands for it, and I m pretty sure I actually had myself starting in high school on accident because I would play with my nipples in the shower a lot, but I don t know how to do it. Is this something I should ask my personal doctor about? Is there a method that is either proven or more likely to work than others? What should I do?
Mon, 18 Aug 2014
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Pediatrician 's  Response
Thanks for putting up your query at HealthCareMagic. It is a very noble gesture that you have extended towards feeding your child. But the hormonal composition of a male and female are not the same. Moreover, the mammary glands in a male are rudimentary and not very functional. In females a hormone called prolactin stimulates lactation or production of breast milk. In males this hormone has a different function. But medical disruptions involving prolactin, the hormone necessary to produce milk, would give rise to spontaneous lactation. In males, normally lactation or galactorrhea may be associated with testosterone deficiency (male hypogonadism) and usually occurs with breast enlargement or tenderness (gynecomastia).

The morphological and physiological modifications necessary for male lactation are possible and, although restrictive, the ecological factors that could select for male lactation seem common enough. In a 1995 article for Discover titled "Father's Milk," Pulitzer Prize-winning author and one-time physiologist Jared Diamond reconciles the nipple stimulation and hormone quandary, pointing out that such stimulation can release prolactin. He also notes that starvation—which inhibits the functioning of hormone-producing glands as well as the hormone-absorbing liver—can cause spontaneous lactation, as observed in survivors of Nazi concentration camps and Japanese POW camps in World War II. "The glands recover much faster than the liver when normal nutrition is resumed," he writes, "so hormone levels soar unchecked." But I am not sure that you would like to play with your hormone levels as they can rather mess things up. Please consult your doctor before your bring in any sort of intervention. I think that helping your wife to express milk and store it in refrigerator would be a better idea than trying to produce milk yourself.

I hope that helps. Feel free to revert back with further queries if any.
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Can Males Produce Breast Milk?

Thanks for putting up your query at HealthCareMagic. It is a very noble gesture that you have extended towards feeding your child. But the hormonal composition of a male and female are not the same. Moreover, the mammary glands in a male are rudimentary and not very functional. In females a hormone called prolactin stimulates lactation or production of breast milk. In males this hormone has a different function. But medical disruptions involving prolactin, the hormone necessary to produce milk, would give rise to spontaneous lactation. In males, normally lactation or galactorrhea may be associated with testosterone deficiency (male hypogonadism) and usually occurs with breast enlargement or tenderness (gynecomastia). The morphological and physiological modifications necessary for male lactation are possible and, although restrictive, the ecological factors that could select for male lactation seem common enough. In a 1995 article for Discover titled Father s Milk, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and one-time physiologist Jared Diamond reconciles the nipple stimulation and hormone quandary, pointing out that such stimulation can release prolactin. He also notes that starvation—which inhibits the functioning of hormone-producing glands as well as the hormone-absorbing liver—can cause spontaneous lactation, as observed in survivors of Nazi concentration camps and Japanese POW camps in World War II. The glands recover much faster than the liver when normal nutrition is resumed, he writes, so hormone levels soar unchecked. But I am not sure that you would like to play with your hormone levels as they can rather mess things up. Please consult your doctor before your bring in any sort of intervention. I think that helping your wife to express milk and store it in refrigerator would be a better idea than trying to produce milk yourself. I hope that helps. Feel free to revert back with further queries if any.