Will Inducing Lactation for Breastfeeding an Adopted Baby Change My Breast or Cause Depression? - Weekend Wisdom

Question: I will ultimately decide on whether to try induced lactation to breastfeed an adopted baby on other factors, but I would like to make my decision with my eyes wide open. I like my breasts as they are, but I have been told all my life that pregnancy and breastfeeding change the breasts (making the breasts saggy and the nipples larger). Do adoptive parents who induce lactation suffer from similar issues? I have also heard of mothers who enter a depressive state during breastfeeding. Can you outline any other negative side effects of induced lactation?

Resources:

• Breastfeeding the Adopted Child
• Creating and Cultivating Attachment with Your Adopted Child
• Post Adoption Depression

Transcript

Please pardon any errors, this is an automated transcript.
Welcome to Weekend Wisdom by Creating a Family. Weekend Wisdom is our opportunity to
answer your questions. We have two podcasts, one a long form interview based podcast
where we interview an expert or someone with lived experience and that's weekly. And
then we have Weekend Wisdom which is also weekly and this is where it's a short
form five to ten minutes where we address one question per episode. Send us your
questions, please, to info @creatingafamily .org.
Okay, let's jump into this week's question. This is from Jen. She said, "I will
ultimately decide "on whether to try induced lactation "to feed an adopted infant on
other factors, "but I would like to make my decision "with my eyes wide open. "I
like my breasts as they are. But I have been told all my life that pregnancy and
breastfeeding can change the breasts and make the breasts saggy and the nipples
larger. Do adopted parents who induce lactation suffer from similar issues? I have
also heard of mothers who have entered a depressive state during breastfeeding. Can
you outline any other negative effects of induced lactation? Well, Jen,
you're right that pregnancy and breastfeeding can change your breast. For some women,
their breasts return to their pre -breastfeeding shape and size after they stop
breastfeeding, and for others, there's a permanent change. But breast -shaped changes,
including sagging and nipple changes, are just as likely to be caused by aging,
genetics, and weight gain as to be caused by breastfeeding. You specifically ask if
adoptive moms have similar issues. I haven't heard of any specific research on this
so I can only share my opinion so take it for what it's worth. I would assume
that the impact on the breast from adoptive breastfeeding would be less because most
women who have not previously breastfed are not able to produce enough milk to
supply the needs of the baby. Thus it would seem to me that her breast will not
undergo the level of engorgement. If she supplements with a bottle, her nipples will
also have less, for lack of a better phrase, wear and tear. So it seems like you
would have less impact on the nipples as well. And the relationship between breast
feeding and postpartum depression is complex. And honestly, I don't think it's fully
understood. I have never heard of any research or even anecdotal comments on the
association between post -adoption depression and inducing lactation. For postpartum
depression, some studies suggest that breastfeeding can reduce depressive symptoms and
lower the risk, while others suggest that breastfeeding difficulties can increase the
risk of postpartum depression. It's not necessarily that they found that the
breastfeeding itself caused the depression. It was the fact that the moms were
struggling and because of the struggle they became depressed. It's less likely that
the breastfeeding will increase your risk of depression. But it might be that how
you handle the struggles to induce lactation and the likely inability to provide all
the nutritional needs of your baby. Now that might cause you to feel depressed. My
gut feeling is that if you were prone to depression, it will be the result of the
big changes in your life. Or as I mentioned just a second ago, your unmet
expectations about breastfeeding it will cause a problem rather than the breastfeeding
itself. And let me share two last final thoughts. First, you need to know that
inducing lactation is a lot of work and it often requires that you take medication
to stimulate milk production. And as I mentioned, most of the women who have not
previously breastfed are going to need to supplement with formula. Second, some adult
adoptees have come out strongly against adoptive parents trying to breastfeed their
adoptive baby. Now you can factor both of these additional thoughts into your
breastfeeding decision. And thank you for an interesting question. And before everyone
leaves, let me remind you that we have a interactive training and support group
curriculum for foster adoptive and kinship families. You can get more information at
parentsupportgroups .org. There are 25 curriculum each on a separate topic.
They're turnkey. They're easy to use. They are high quality. They can be used as a
training or with a support group. So check it out at parentsupportgroups .org and
thank you for listening to this week's Week in Wisdom. If you like it, please tell
a friend to subscribe to the creatingafamily .org podcast and I will see you next
week.