If you had a baby recently, there are many sources available to support you in the science of breastfeeding your child. However, in this article, we want to explore a different angle on the topic – adult breastfeeding.
What is adult breastfeeding? Generally, it is defined as adult women (who may or may not be lactating) nursing their partner. While not widely discussed, adult breastfeeding can have health benefits and be an intimate way to bond closer with your co-parent. Additionally, it can also be highly arousing, depending on your history and sexual kinks.
Can Adults Drink Breast Milk?
First things first: you’re probably wondering if adults can drink breast milk.
The answer is, in short: yes.
However there is widespread division on whether or not it is healthy to do so. Let’s explore the pros and cons of sharing breast milk with other adults, and see what experts on both sides of the argument are saying about it.
Benefits of Breastmilk for Adults
The benefits of adult breastfeeding include immunity and other health boosts. The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) says that due to breast milk’s antibacterial qualities, it can be used to cure cuts and scrapes on the body as well as other skin ailments. NCBI also recommends using it to soothe raw nipples from breastfeeding.
Ingesting the milk may have a whole different set of benefits for adult systems as well. According to the International Breastfeeding Centre, during sickness, a mother’s body will produce antibodies to fight off the illness. These antibodies will carry into her breast milk to keep her baby immune from the illness. It is believed these antibodies could boost immunity in adults as well.
There is also a market for adults who wish to purchase breast milk to improve their health. Websites where mothers can sell their breast milk are not only frequented by women who need to supplement their own supply, but also by adults seeking to use it as an addition to their workout regimen. Some male bodybuilders are finding they get an energy boost from breast milk, and are claiming it to be a great health supplement.
However, some experts believe any immunity boosts found in breast milk are already present in adults bodies, and that benefits may be unsubstantiated by science. The potential harm in adult breast feeding is a transfer of disease, especially when buying the milk from an online source. A highly discussed warning is the transfer of HIV into adults. Should the woman pumping her breast milk be infected with a disease, it is likely that this would transfer into the milk.
Adult Nursing Relationships and Their Benefits
Adult Nursing Relationships – or ANRs – are created for many reasons, including arousal, comfort, and bonding. By engaging in an ANR, two adults strive to feel anything from nurtured or nurturing to naughty. An adult may also want to drink breast milk because they enjoy the taste.
In an ANR, the focus is on the bonding of two adults who have agreed that this is how they want to bond, relax, or get kinky with each other. A couple may even be beyond child rearing age – however, an ANR can provide lots of benefits for them.
An ANR is not to be confused with Ageplay – although adult breastfeeding may be a part of this role play. Ageplay is a created dynamic between two consenting adults in which one “babies” the other, because they enjoy being infantilized.
The benefits of an Adult Nursing Relationship are vast – and the type of ANR relationship can determine the benefits.
For one, ANRs facilitate the release of oxytocin – a brain chemical that acts as attachment builder and stress reliever. It also intensifies arousal and makes people feel great.
Couples engaging in an ANR often also create a space to feel indulgent and decadent. Within that, they find that many of their needs are being met.
Can Men Breastfeed?
To answer the age-old question of “Why do men have nipples?” we found that, if needed, men can indeed breastfeed their children.
The first condition necessary is hormonal stimulation through estrogen and prolactin. Prolactin is created in the pituitary gland, found near the underbelly of the brain. If enough of these hormones are produced for a sustained period of time, lactation can occur in males. Men who wish to introduce prolactin and estrogen have the option of hormone injections.
Secondly, men’s nipples need to be stimulated enough to produce milk and breastfeed. As in the case with adoptive mothers or wet nurses, nipple stimulation may result in lactation within a few weeks. This is because both males and females have mammary glands, however the glands in males are normally underdeveloped. With stimulation, they can “awaken” and begin to lactate.
There may be men who wish to bond with their babies through breastfeeding. They don’t want to inject hormones and are finding that stimulation is not enough to lactate. For these men, it’s possible to simulate the feeling by creating an emotionally connected bottle nursing time, or using a milk catheter attached to their chest. While it won’t be their bodies dispensing the milk, a deep emotional bond can nonetheless form between father and child.
Common Questions about Adult Breastfeeding
1.“I want to know about dry nursing my boyfriend or husband to sleep”
Adult Nursing Relationships can be fulfilling for both partners. If it is something both you and your partner enjoy, it can be wonderful to add this to your routine or conscious bonding time.
2. “I want to breastfeed my husband, but I’m not pregnant”
Your milk won’t come in until you start nursing your baby. You can breastfeed your husband once you’ve started to lactate for the baby. If you do not have enough milk for both your baby and husband, or you’d rather wait until you wean the baby, you have options. Your milk will continue to come in for a while after you wean the baby – you can breastfeed your husband then. You could also breastfeed without the milk (this is called dry nursing).This is generally more fantasy-based than sharing actual milk, but may be equally fulfilling.
3. “How to induce lactation for my husband”
It is indeed possible to induce lactation – even when you have not recently been pregnant. Just like for men, it’s possible for a woman to start producing breast milk by taking hormones or ongoing nipple stimulation. There are also supplements called galactagogues that increase the likelihood of lactation. You can get them without a prescription and take them as advised. In addition, it’s possible to start lactating spontaneously after extended and frequent nipple sucking. A breast pump can be used to encourage lactation as well.
Breast milk is an incredibly powerful bonding tool with proven healing properties. Whether it’s a mother passing along her surplus supply, or two adults creating a space in which they can bond intimately – breast milk is versatile in the way it can bring humans together well beyond birth.
