Lactating Men

In modern society, the roles of men and women have been switching, with many women taking on the work field and many men becoming stay at home dads.  With this trend increasing, soon enough dads might even begin breastfeeding. That’s right! You didn’t read wrong, I didn’t spell anything wrong; it is true that men themselves can breastfeed. Think about it, men do have nipples, or mammary papilla, which include the mammary glands that create milk. Men also have oxytocin  and prolactin, the hormones responsible for making milk.  It is a common misconception that men cannot produce milk, but as we are growing in the womb as fetuses our body creates certain body parts regardless of sex, and this includes mammary papilla. It is the male hormones that suppress the function of these glands that secrete milk. Also, men usually do not create this much milk because they do not have enough estrogen. Therefore by taking estrogen pills a man can nurse a baby. However, there have been some cases where men say they just thought about doing it and they began to create milk. How this cognitive process works we are still unsure. Other male mammals can also breastfeed, such as bats and penguins. A man does not have to be overweight to breastfeed either; the tissue will grow as the man creates milk.

 Men being able to breastfeed can be looked at an evolutionary standpoint. If a mother died of sickness or was killed, the father could still care and nurture for the baby. I think more men beginning to breastfeed would be beneficial, and work well with today’s society. Often men feel like they are not as strongly connected to the baby as women are, but with men breastfeeding they can share this same connection. This can be also beneficial to men who are not married but may want to adopt babies. There have been cases where the men’s body “learned” to breastfeed the adopted baby after about twelve weeks. When Dustin Hoffman, off of Meet the Fockers, became a grandfather, he admitted to having urges of lactating, and even produced milk. Another story says that a young boy received a puppy as a gift and after creating a close connection with the puppy started to lactate just like he was the puppy’s father (or mother). So not just fathers, but any man can create milk. I also think this would be helpful in today’s society, because with more women working, they may not be around as much, but also be stressed. Stress causes women to stop creating milk. This was an evolutionary advantage because years ago “stress” usually meant a lack of resources, so the body was saving the woman’s resources. Male nursing may also make it easier for babies to be fed in public places because it is much easier for a man to be around people without a shirt on. Also, men’s breastmilk, in combination with the woman’s breastmilk can help strengthen the babies’ immune system and make it healthier. I think it would be an interesting thing to research if male milk is different from a female’s since there is not much information on it.

Soo what do you guys think? As a women would you like to have your man help breastfeed? And men...do u think you would like to breastfeed your baby? I personally think a man breastfeeding his baby makes him even more of a man.  For more info read: http://www.unassistedchildbirth.com/miscarticles/milkmen.html