Lactation generally continues as long as milk is removed from your breast. The more milk that's removed, the more milk your body makes to replace it. Frequent feeding or pumping will cause your body to make more milk.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Excessive breast stimulation, medication side effects or disorders of the pituitary gland all may contribute to galactorrhea. Often, galactorrhea results from increased levels of prolactin, the hormone that stimulates milk production. Sometimes, the cause of galactorrhea can't be determined.
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.
After that, they recommend breastfeeding as long as “mutually desired by mother and infant.” The World Health Organization (WHO) also recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months, and then continuing to breastfeed for “up to 2 years and beyond.”
Breastfeeding is the best way to feed your grandchild. It helps babies grow and develop, feel safe and secure, and stay healthy. But breastfeeding is not just good for babies—it's good for moms, too. Breastfeeding helps mom bond with baby, reduces the risk for certain diseases, and saves time and money.
Mothers who exclusively breastfeed twins or triplets can produce 2,000 to 3,000 g/day, although this involves nursing an average of 15 or more times per day (Saint et al., 1986). Women who express surplus milk for a milk bank have been shown to produce as much as 3,000 g/day (Macy et al., 1930).
Although artificial or formula-feeding of infants is presently much safer than it has been in decades, breastmilk is still considered the best source of infant nutrition (Leung & Sauve, 2005). Throughout the ages and until the end of the 19th century, animal's milk was the most common source of artificial feeding.
With “dry” breastfeeding your baby does not actually drink significant amounts of milk, but he is able to smell and taste the droplets of milk that remain in your breast after pumping.
Yes, you can breastfeed a baby to whom you did not give birth. In fact, breastfeeding an adopted baby is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. It is even possible to breastfeed if you have never been pregnant or have reached menopause.
After one year, the AAP recommends breastfeeding for as long you and your baby wish to do so. The AAP also states that "There is no upper limit to the duration of breastfeeding and no evidence of psychologic or developmental harm from breastfeeding into the third year of life or longer."
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends nursing up to one year and as long as mutually desired by the mother and the child.
In Mongolia, breastfeeding is celebrated and public breastfeeding encouraged with 65 percent of babies being exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life. Breastfeeding also tends to continue until after the second birthday.
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.
The U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans [PDF-30.6MB] recommend that infants be exclusively breastfed for about the first 6 months, and then continuing breastfeeding while introducing appropriate complementary foods until your child is 12 months old or older.
Breast milk tastes like milk, but probably a different kind than the store-bought one you're used to. The most popular description is “heavily sweetened almond milk.” The flavor is affected by what each mom eats and the time of day. Here's what some moms, who've tasted it, also say it tastes like: cucumbers.
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.
Normally, without suckling, milk production ceases 14 to 21 days after birth. PRL- mediated milk production and secretion, however, may continue as long as the breasts are stimulated, as evidenced by the ability of wet-nursing for many years (16).
The wet-nursing mom may have problems with the let-down reflex. There is always the potential for infection (in the woman or baby). There may be an interruption of the breast milk supply for the mother's own baby. Wet-nursing may get a negative response from the baby's siblings and other's in the household.
“Wet nurses still exist but not many people talk about it and when it does happen, it's much less of a paid position like it was centuries ago,” Gourley says. Today, wet nursing (or cross nursing, as it's more commonly called) is a much more casual affair.
Breastfeeding in public requires women to be discrete and covered-up, so as not to expose her breast. She is also required to feed in an appropriate place to avoid discomforting others, guard against judgement, and to protect herself from the unwanted male gaze.