Ok.  You never know what you’ll learn while hopping about on the internet.

(And if you’re faint at heart…or queasy in stomach…please do not read ahead, ladies!)

…………

Never in my entire 25 years of existance have I heard of the phenomenom of Male Lactation.  If I would have (before the days of Google) I would have laughed it off as an urban legend. 

But the other day, I was happily bouncing along through baby blogs and discovered an article regarding fathers who breastfeed. (Needless to say, my tummy didn’t feel very well upon first thought.)

So, in true 20something hip chick form, I sped over to google and typed in those imfamous words Male Lactation.

And up popped 234,000 results.

Goodness Gracious!!!  I mean, I want Kevin to be a hands-on Daddy, but I think I’d be taking it too far if I requested him to do nipple duty as well.  Not to mention that would probably just freak him out completely.  I had a hard time at first convincing him to let ME breastfeed the baby.  He was truly against it until I convinced him otherwise.  (Honestly, this was a case where I wouldn’t take “no way” for an answer). 

I think somewhere in his 24 year old male brain he struggled with the thought of watching his child hooked on to his wife in such a fashion.  It makes me giggle to think of what he’d say if I told him about THIS! 

For the ultra curious at heart (like me!), here is what Wikipedia had to say about it….

The phenomenon of male lactation in humans has become more common in recent years due to the use of medications that stimulate a man’s mammary glands. Though boys and men have nipples, many are unaware that they also have mammary glands. In ordinary circumstances, there is so little mammary tissue that it is unnoticeable; if the male breasts develop visibly, the condition is called gynecomastia. Under the appropriate hormonal stimulus—that nature provides to human females when they become pregnant and give birth—the mammary glands of human males can also produce milk. The volume of milk produced is low relative to that of a lactating female. Male lactation has, in some cases, commenced without hormonal treatments as well.[citation needed] Newborn baby boys (and girls) can occasionally produce milk because of the intense hormones involved in their mother’s pregnancy and the hours of childbirth; this is called witch’s milk.

Male lactation is most commonly caused by hormonal treatments given to men suffering from prostate cancer. Female hormones are used to slow the production of cancerous prostate tissue, but the same hormones also stimulate the mammary glands. Male-to-female transsexuals may also produce milk owing to the hormones they take to reshape their bodies. It can occasionally be a side-effect of antipsychotic medication. Extreme stress combined with demanding physical activity and a shortage of food has also been known to cause male lactation. The phenomenon was first studied in survivors of the liberated Nazi concentration camps after World War II. Some American POWs returning from the Korean and Vietnam Wars also experienced male lactation.

The phenomenon of male lactation occurs in some non-human species, notably the Dayak fruit bat (Dyacopterus spadiceus), and the lactating males may assist in the nursing of their infants. In addition, male goats are known to lactate on occasion….

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