Breastfeeding

Hey Mags, I was wondering. A friend of mine had two siblings who were "developmentally slow." In other words, although they were in their 40s, they were very much like children of about 10 or 12. I don't know about their intellects, they both seemed intelligent enough to function in the everyday world, have simple jobs, pay bills, etc. (anything with a routine), but were socially immature, didn't grasp a lot of deeper meanings of things, and had very childish interests and ways of interacting. My friend told me that her mother had breastfed them both but afterwards they were told that both siblings were allergic (or sensitive) to some enzyme (or something) in her breastmilk and that caused some problem related to their development. Does that sound possible? My friend was also breastfed but did not have this sensitivity and came out "normal." I always wondered if this was some flim-flam they were told.
 
Magdlyn said:
Babies can't be allergic to breastmilk. It's much more likely he was sensitive to certain foods your mom ate, that passed into her milk.
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That's possible. He's still allergic to a variety of things. I only remembered it as a kid as him being allergic to the milk, but I suppose he was allergic to something that was in it. It might have been considered too risky to "experiment" and see what he reacted to, since he had a very strong reaction, so he was fed formula instead.

I have a question slightly related to milk allergy. I don't tolerate milk, be it cow milk or goat milk (I think I've also tried sheep and buffalo with the same results. I've been told horse milk exists, but I find it easier to just avoid milk). I believe I react poorly to casein and whey. Are they present in human milk too? Wouldn't it be possible to tolerate it poorly due to that reason?

I didn't have a problem being breastfed personally, but I'm curious.
 
nycindie said:
Hey Mags, I was wondering. A friend of mine had two siblings who were "developmentally slow." In other words, although they were in their 40s, they were very much like children of about 10 or 12. I don't know about their intellects, they both seemed intelligent enough to function in the everyday world, have simple jobs, pay bills, etc. (anything with a routine), but were socially immature, didn't grasp a lot of deeper meanings of things, and had very childish interests and ways of interacting. My friend told me that her mother had breastfed them both but afterwards they were told that both siblings were allergic (or sensitive) to some enzyme (or something) in her breastmilk and that caused some problem related to their development. Does that sound possible? My friend was also breastfed but did not have this sensitivity and came out "normal." I always wondered if this was some flim-flam they were told.
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I'd need a lot more information to understand what this problem could be. Babies fed formula generally don't develop to their full potential and end up a few points lower on the IQ scale than if fed their mother's milk.
 
Tonberry said:
I have a question slightly related to milk allergy. I don't tolerate milk, be it cow milk or goat milk (I think I've also tried sheep and buffalo with the same results. I've been told horse milk exists, but I find it easier to just avoid milk).
I believe I react poorly to casein and whey. Are they present in human milk too? Wouldn't it be possible to tolerate it poorly due to that reason?

I didn't have a problem being breastfed personally, but I'm curious.
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The casein and whey in human milk is species specific. It breaks down much smaller than the casein in cow's milk, and is easily digested by infants and toddlers. Formula companies chemically treat the proteins in cow's milk formulas to break down smaller, but the substance is still more rubbery than human milk curds.

So, you don't think you're just lactose intolerant, but actually sensitive to the proteins in cow's milk? How do you do with yogurt? The bacteria in that sort of predigests the proteins.
 
Magdlyn said:
So, you don't think you're just lactose intolerant, but actually sensitive to the proteins in cow's milk? How do you do with yogurt? The bacteria in that sort of predigests the proteins.
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It only causes asthma, nothing more serious, so I don't avoid milk completely, but I'm been trying to avoid it when I can, and yogurt is actually not something I like enough to miss it much, so I haven't experimented much with it. I know that I react to lactose-free products too, and that cheese tends to be the worst. I also react to soy cheeses, and that's why I ended up figuring it was the casein, because they use it in "milk-free" cheeses too. Then again, I get triggered by some things that have whey in them. Avoiding both in products has worked for avoiding allergic reactions.

Sometimes it's a bit hard to tell though. For instance, I had a reaction to chips once. I got confused and checked the ingredients, and outside of the potato, salt and pepper, it said "milk products." It's obviously hard to know what exactly that refers to.
 
Tonberry said:
You can actually induce lactation without hormones at all, although it's even less likely to succeed. The breast needs to be constantly stimulated (I don't mean non-stop, I mean several times a day) and will eventually start producing the milk.
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I've heard this numerous times, but none of the women I was with as a teenager started lactation, despite near constant stimulation. :rolleyes:
 
SvartSvensk said:
I've heard this numerous times, but none of the women I was with as a teenager started lactation, despite near constant stimulation. :rolleyes:
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It's possible they were too young, or that it wasn't the right kind of stimulation, or that there wasn't enough of it. As far as I know, it needs to be very regular, in order to reproduce the pattern of a baby breastfeeding. (Magdlyn said every 2 hours all day round, every day for months, with a 4 hour break at night). I doubt it was that regular, that often and over such long periods of time.

(I realise it was probably simply a joke, but I thought I'd address it anyways).
 
SvartSvensk said:
I've heard this numerous times, but none of the women I was with as a teenager started lactation, despite near constant stimulation. :rolleyes:
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Every 2 hours for 20 mins (10 mins per breast) 24/7. My gf claims to have brought her last gf's milk in a bit while they were in NRE. heh
 
I think it's cool, but I also have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, I think it makes more sense to drink human milk than milk from another species, on the other hand I wonder if donating it for women who don't produce enough milk wouldn't be a better cause, so that it does to babies who do need it, and not adults who don't. Then I wonder if there is a chance of exploitation, of women being used like cattle is, for their milk, pushed to produce more than is probably good for them, etc. And on the other hand I would think it good for women to be able to decide to sell their breast milk if they want to.

So, lots of feelings. But mostly, good impression, and something I certainly would enjoy trying.
 
Tonberry said:
I think it's cool, but I also have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, I think it makes more sense to drink human milk than milk from another species, on the other hand I wonder if donating it for women who don't produce enough milk wouldn't be a better cause, so that it does to babies who do need it, and not adults who don't.
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Well, lots of women with large milk supplies do donate their milk for babies in need. With the AIDs scare, milk banks got scared and many closed, sadly. This is changing again, however.

Then I wonder if there is a chance of exploitation, of women being used like cattle is, for their milk, pushed to produce more than is probably good for them, etc.
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Well, who is going to force a woman to sell her milk? In this day and age of increasing empowerment of women, I find that scenario unlikely. Also, no woman will produce more milk than is good for her. There is a limit. Most women can fully breastfeed triplets without much trouble, as long as they are well-nourished, well rested and hydrated.

And on the other hand I would think it good for women to be able to decide to sell their breast milk if they want to.

So, lots of feelings. But mostly, good impression, and something I certainly would enjoy trying.
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I'm sure it's yummy. Human milk is higher in sugar than cow's milk, so I wonder if the makers of this ice cream even need to add extra sugar in its manufacture.

I've know moms who froze their milk into ice pops for teething toddlers. I've also read of cultures where breastmilk is given to elderly and/or ill people who have low appetites or trouble digesting other foods.
 
I had a lesbian couple as friends when I was on maternity leave with my boy. One of them had their baby girl and the other learned how to breast feed. They both breastfed their daughter. Now the one who learned is a man however, which is why I say "had." (They are also not together any more.)

I had a friend that wanted to breast feed my child while she baby sat. She had babies herself and thought it was a great idea to sooth him. He refused however, and I was not cool with it.

I don't see why poly tribes/families can't breastfeed their children together, even learn how, to feed their metamour's babies. It's an idea and has made me wonder about poly relationships that could or do share the responsibility of breast feeding.
 
Oh, so the mods did decide to split the thread after all!

RP, it's interesting your transman acquaintance was willing to induce lactation when he was presenting as female. Many dykes won't breastfeed their partner's baby. I've worked with lesbian moms of twins, even, and the non-birth-mother partner wouldn't do this. I mean, it's understandable. Many dykes with kids ID more as "Daddy" than Mommy. But it would be convenient to have 2 lactating women in the house, especially in the case of a multiple birth (which happens with fertility treatments lesbians often use, such as in vitro).
 
redpepper said:
I don't see why poly tribes/families can't breastfeed their children together. Even learn it to feed their metamours babies. Its an idea and has made me wonder about poly relationships that could or do share the responsibility of breast feeding.
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Yes, resurrect the old tradition of wet nurses!
 
Okay as a La Leche League Leader, I am here required to say that LLL is officially against shared breastfeeding. The objections are to disease transmission (especially HIV/AIDs, where the link between transmission of the virus through breastmilk is not yet fully understood), and the risk to the lessening of the primary mother/child bond.

That said, if you were in a poly "tribe" and fully trusted your sweetie or metamour in the area of safe sex, and she didn't feed your baby *more* than you did, or share sleep or care for more hours in the day than you did, I can see it working.
 
Is it really a problem if they do it more? In a poly relationship, if there is no hierarchy, then all the parents could be parents on equal terms. With fathers, it happens that nobody knows who the bio father is, or cares. With mothers, you know for sure, but it seems to me having more people take care of the kid shouldn't take anything away.

And in a lesbian relationship, both are equally the mother, it seems to me. I understand that the child needs bonding and only knows the person he's been inside at first, but if they can be adopted, shouldn't they be able to be raised by several moms? Is it important to have one person take care of the majority of the feeding?

I ask because although I wanted to induce breastfeeding in case of adoption, my boyfriend and I both agreed that he would also feed the baby so they'd bond with him too. (Not breastfeed the baby. Feed them formula, most likely, or if I happen to produce enough milk, then breast milk.)
We wanted it to be shared as equally as we could. But are you saying that there needs to be one parent doing it more? In that case, does it have to be a female? He'd probably be much closer to the baby than I would, as he wants a child more than I do, so it wouldn't seem fair to create more bonding with me than with him. I think it would make both of us uncomfortable with the situation.
 
Interesting side note, lactation can be induced in men as well.
 
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