Help

[Needadaddy25]

I wanna start lactating and need help . Do you know how to start?

 

[Moochienanu]

This article and LLL in general are a great resource for help with induced lactation. I have a friend who used a surrogate for both of her girls and was able to breast feed both. I don’t know why you’re hoping to start, but good luck.

 

[Nezhul]

Skimmed through the article, but I didn't really find a lot about how to induce lactation in the first place if you aren't pregnant.

This article is a bit more helpful when it comes to inducing rather than breastfeeding a child:
https://momwoot.com/how-to-induce-lactation-quickly/

The entire thing boils down to several points.
1) To induce, breasts need to be stimulated (sucked) often. And by often I mean every 2-3 hours, for 15-20 minutes, including waking up at night.
2) It is next to unrealistic to do it without an automated milk pump.
3) Prepare yourself to commit to it for at least 2 months. Some get results faster, and it's awesome. But many struggle. You should understand what you are signing up for.
4) It's a huge commitment. As you can see, it's almost like a full-day job, even harder. Pumping 8-12 times a day, including at night is already at least 4 hours a day of commitment to just breast pumping, including losing sleep. It's easy to imagine being frustrated even after a week of such regime.
5) Prepare to be frustrated, brought to tears and wanting to give up. I mean, what I described above is a reality of inducing lactation. It's like a torture of sleep deprivation and not being able to plan anything longer than 2-3 hours during your day. It's a huge hit to your work schedule - I recommend trying to arrange to work from home or taking an extended leave. Be prepared for that, and be prepared to not give up. Because if you slack for even a day - it will push your progress back a week.
6) Get all the emotional help and support you can have. Make sure your SO is there for you, or your parents, friends.
7) There are prescription meds that can help. Mostly it's hormones and so they are by default a controversial thing to do. There are also NO medication for inducing lactation specifically - they are meds for other things that have lactation as side effect. Also they won't work without pumping too - they will merely speed up the process.
8) Lastly, when you do see results, you will have to keep pumping (or otherwise emptying) your breasts often to increase or even simply keep the milk flowing. You will be committed to at least 4-6 times per day emptying your breasts, otherwise the milk will diminish and go away quickly. So it's not a done-and-forget deal - it's an ongoing commitment for as long as you wish to lactate. You can then sell or donate your milk to milk banks, just so that it isn't a waste. Some women get as much as 2.5 liters of milk per 24 hours, pumping about 9 oz every 3 hours. But of course everyone is different physically.

Good luck!

 

[box13]

Skimmed through the article, but I didn't really find a lot about how to induce lactation in the first place if you aren't pregnant.

This article is a bit more helpful when it comes to inducing rather than breastfeeding a child:
https://momwoot.com/how-to-induce-lactation-quickly/

The entire thing boils down to several points.
1) To induce, breasts need to be stimulated (sucked) often. And by often I mean every 2-3 hours, for 15-20 minutes, including waking up at night.
2) It is next to unrealistic to do it without an automated milk pump.
3) Prepare yourself to commit to it for at least 2 months. Some get results faster, and it's awesome. But many struggle. You should understand what you are signing up for.
4) It's a huge commitment. As you can see, it's almost like a full-day job, even harder. Pumping 8-12 times a day, including at night is already at least 4 hours a day of commitment to just breast pumping, including losing sleep. It's easy to imagine being frustrated even after a week of such regime.
5) Prepare to be frustrated, brought to tears and wanting to give up. I mean, what I described above is a reality of inducing lactation. It's like a torture of sleep deprivation and not being able to plan anything longer than 2-3 hours during your day. It's a huge hit to your work schedule - I recommend trying to arrange to work from home or taking an extended leave. Be prepared for that, and be prepared to not give up. Because if you slack for even a day - it will push your progress back a week.
6) Get all the emotional help and support you can have. Make sure your SO is there for you, or your parents, friends.
7) There are prescription meds that can help. Mostly it's hormones and so they are by default a controversial thing to do. There are also NO medication for inducing lactation specifically - they are meds for other things that have lactation as side effect. Also they won't work without pumping too - they will merely speed up the process.
8) Lastly, when you do see results, you will have to keep pumping (or otherwise emptying) your breasts often to increase or even simply keep the milk flowing. You will be committed to at least 4-6 times per day emptying your breasts, otherwise the milk will diminish and go away quickly. So it's not a done-and-forget deal - it's an ongoing commitment for as long as you wish to lactate. You can then sell or donate your milk to milk banks, just so that it isn't a waste. Some women get as much as 2.5 liters of milk per 24 hours, pumping about 9 oz every 3 hours. But of course everyone is different physically.

Good luck!

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