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The How & Why of Induced Lactation
Part IV

This is a step by step summary of how to induce lactation.

1. Take the time to contemplate why and how you want to induce lactation and adult nurse. Motivation is an important factor in any endeavor, especially so when inducing lactation. By understanding how you expect to benefit from lactation and adult nursing, it will be easier to keep yourself motivated.
2. Learn everything you can about the how and why of inducing lactation and adult nursing relationships. Read our files and search the Internet for information.
3. Plan the techniques you intend to use and the schedule you intend to follow. Write down your plans in an inexpensive notebook; you will need to refer to these notes in the future.
4. Find ways to reduce stress in your daily routine. Stress will make inducing lactation more difficult; make your daily routine as stress free as possible.
5. Evaluate your diet. To successfully induce lactation, a woman must have a healthy, balanced diet, including an adequate intake of fluids.
6. Evaluate your medications. Read about the side effects and indications of all the medication you are currently taking. Some medications will severely inhibit, and sometimes even stop, lactation.
7. When you feel your ready to begin inducing, sit down and have an open conversation with your partner about your desires and goals to induce lactation and breast feed. If your partner is going to be resistant to the idea of adult nursing, it is better to deal with these issues up front. A negative reaction from your husband or partner should not deter you from inducing lactation; it is your life and your body. It is not unreasonable for a woman to expect to do a few things in life, just for her own benefit.
8. Arrange your daily routine as to allow up to eight, 20 minute stimulation sessions per each day. That being said, lactation can be induced with as few as three, 20 minute stimulation sessions per each day; however, it will likely take longer and result in less milk volume. Your inducing lactation schedule should include at least three stimulation sessions per each day: one immediately after you awake in the morning, another just before going to bed in the evening, and a third stimulation session at 2 a.m., (a woman's hormone production is at its highest approximately four hours after she has gone to sleep). Because you are training your body to respond to a stimulus, all stimulation sessions should be consistent and routine. Include as many stimulation sessions each day as possible.
9. Began your inducing stimulation sessions with nipple stimulation and breast massage, and where possible, include adult suckling as a stimulation technique. Physical nipple stimulation should be done with the fingers, in a fashion that would stimulate nerve endings in the nipples and areolas. Physical breast massage should be done in a fashion that would stimulate the individual mammary glands. Breast massage should also tend to move body fluids, through the lymphatic system, toward the mammary glands. Physical stimulation, whether done by hand massage or adult suckling: one breast should be stimulated for five minutes, then switch to the other breast and stimulate for five minutes. Alternate your stimulation technique between breasts for five minutes each, until you have completed the twenty minute stimulation session.
10. Initially, nipple stimulation and breast massage will cause swelling and temporary soreness. Methods used by new mothers to treat breast soreness are also effective for soreness caused by induced lactation. It is important to keep your breasts clean and dry, especially the area around the nipples and areolas. Dampness around nipples can cause bacteria to form. As your breast size increases, you must also increase your bra size; tight bras can inhibit lactation.
11. Continue nipple stimulation, breast massage, and where possible, adult suckling, for at least four weeks. Many women are able to induce lactation, using breast stimulation and/or adult suckling techniques only. In the beginning, if you add other techniques, such as medications, herbs and/or breast pumping, you may be doing yourself disservice. Near the end of the first four weeks of inducing lactation, you should be able to hand express several large white droplets of milk during each session, and hopefully occasional sprays of white milk.
12. At the end of four weeks, if you have had little or no success, or if you seem to be stuck on a plateau, consider adding medication, such as Domperidone, to your inducing regimen. Domperidone is a relatively safe drug, which was created for the treatment of gastric reflux, and has this side effect of inducing lactation in most women. After adding Domperidone to their inducing regimen, (usually 2 tablets taken four times each day), most women see an increase in milk flow within the first few days. As with any medication, a small test dosage should be taken first, to determine any negative reaction you may have to the drug. Reglan, another medication created for the treatment of reflux, should never be used to induce lactation.
13. Herbs, and/or herb tea, may also be added to your inducing regimen after four weeks. Herbs, (such as Fenugreek, Blessed Thistle, Fennel, Goats Rue, Rosemary, Satavari, Verbena, etc.), have proven successful for many women for increasing lactation. Herbs are naturally occurring drugs, and should be treated as such; before taking large doses of any medication or herb, begin with a small dosage to determine any negative reaction you may have to the drug.
14. Breast pumping should be the last technique added to your inducing regimen. Even the best of breast pumps give poor physical stimulation, and should be used only when there is enough milk to pump. When using breast pumping as an inducing technique, follow up each session by hand expressing the remaining drops of milk from your breasts. Breast pumps rarely drain the breasts of milk.
15. During the first two weeks of inducing lactation, you should begin to be able to express clear fluid from your nipples, while stimulating and massaging. When the clear fluids turn white, its milk, even if it's only a very small amount. When you were able to express white milk, even if only a drop or two, you have successfully induced lactation. From this point, you need to modify your stimulation and massage sessions from inducing, to increasing lactation.
16. To increase lactation, the demand for milk must be higher than the supply; when you stimulate and massage your breasts, continue the session until you have expressed every available drop. You must also train yourself mentally, to focus your subconscious thoughts on the need for more milk.
17. If after 90 days, you have not seen substantial progress with lactation, it is time to reevaluate your techniques and motivation. Reading back through your notebook, ask yourself: "Have I faithfully followed my plan?" "Have I kept myself motivated?" "Have I successfully reduced stress in my daily routine?" Identify and correct any deficiencies that have found their way into your inducing regimen.
18. Natural lactation develops during the last five months of pregnancy; expect induced lactation to also take time. How long, depends entirely on the woman's individual physiology and her dedication. While inducing lactation is not particularly difficult, it does require dedication and self discipline; for some women, lactation becomes almost an obsession.