It's called re-lactation. It's possible for the female body to come back from “drying up” and produce milk again. In fact, many mothers of adopted children are able to pump and use several methods in order to stimulate their bodies to produce milk, even if they haven't given birth!
It's not unusual for milky discharge to continue for up to two to three years after discontinuing breastfeeding and it typically affects both breasts.
This is called idiopathic galactorrhea, and it may just mean that your breast tissue is particularly sensitive to the milk-producing hormone prolactin in your blood. If you have increased sensitivity to prolactin, even normal prolactin levels can lead to galactorrhea.
To induce a full milk supply, you'll want to aim to nurse or pump 8 to 12 times a day, or every 2 to 3 hours, including at least once a night. Again, at first, you'll only see drops or not much milk at all. If you keep nursing or pumping, you should start to see increases within a week or so.
Once your body has begun producing milk, it can continue to do so indefinitely, provided that demand continues (meaning that you have a baby to feed or pump your breast milk). It is common for children to be breastfed for several years before weaning in many countries.
It's called re-lactation. It's possible for the female body to come back from “drying up” and produce milk again. In fact, many mothers of adopted children are able to pump and use several methods in order to stimulate their bodies to produce milk, even if they haven't given birth!
During relactation, you train your body to produce milk after not lactating for a period of time. It's possible to relactate if you haven't produced breast milk in weeks, months or even years. And while some may think relactation is a modern concept, the practice has been around for hundreds of years.
Relactation is not easy. It may or may not work for you. Women who relactate because of the emotional benefits of nursing generally feel more successful than those who focus on their milk supply. In a survey of women who attempted relactation, 75% felt it had been a positive experience.
The two most common medications used to augment milk synthesisare Metaclopramide (Reglan) and Domperidone. Both are anti-nausea medicines which increase prolactin production.
Frequent stimulation of the nipples by pumping, hand expression, and/or an infant nursing is required to re-establish milk production. Once milk production has begun, frequent and complete removal of the milk helps to develop a milk supply.
The Menopause Protocol
If the mother is menopausal due to surgical removal of her reproductive organs or naturally occurring menopause, she can still breastfeed and bring in her milk supply. A woman does not need a uterus or ovaries in order to breastfeed.
The milk production can continue for up to a period of 2-3 years. Breast milk, the healthiest food you can give to your baby, contains fat, which babies and even young kids need to grow and help their body absorb and process essential vitamins and minerals.
While there's no real cut off – it's never too late to try relactation – the longer you wait to get started, the harder a time you and your baby will have.
A well-balanced diet is an important component to successful relactation. Some foods even have lactogenic (milk-making) properties, including green leafy vegetables (like spinach). Try having oats for breakfast, snack on almonds, and eat avocados and bananas.
Pumping for Relactation
Not only does it stimulate both breasts to produce milk, but pumping both breasts at once supports higher prolactin levels, more letdowns, and fattier milk content. That being said, everyone responds differently to pumping. That's why consistency is key.
Relactation was possible in 100% mothers. Complete relactation was possible in 29 (85.29%) mothers when their age was <25 years and in 38 (86.36%) mothers when their infants age was <6 weeks. Chances of complete relactation were less, when duration of artificial feeding was more and infant was fed with bottle (62.96%).
Reasons for lactating when not recently pregnant can range from hormone imbalances to medication side effects to other health conditions. The most common cause of breast milk production is an elevation of a hormone produced in the brain called prolactin. Elevation of prolactin can be caused by: medications.
If you stop breastfeeding, you can start again. Our lactation expert has 10 tips to help you with the transition. Can breast milk come back after “drying up”? Relactation is the name given to the process of rebuilding a milk supply and resuming breastfeeding at some time after breastfeeding has stopped.
Is relactation safe? Relactation is perfectly safe, but you'll want to enlist the help of your baby's doctor and/or a lactation consultant to make sure your baby is always receiving enough nourishment as you transition from formula to breast milk.
Nutrition experts say breast milk of grandmothers is recommended for babies who cannot be breastfed by their biological mothers for whatever reason, noting that contrary to assumptions, women who are over 60 years can still produce breast milk and effectively breastfeed infants.
Women who have never given birth, and those well past menopause, can still produce breast milk.
Sometimes a woman's breasts make milk even though she is not pregnant or breastfeeding. This condition is called galactorrhea (say: guh-lack-tuh-ree-ah). The milk may come from one or both breasts. It may leak on its own or only when the breasts are touched.
Excess prolactin tricks your body into thinking it should lactate (or make milk), which is why you leak milk from your nipples. Other causes include: Taking medications including birth control pills, blood pressure medicine or antidepressants.