Among them was a South American man, observed by Prussian naturalist Alexander von Humboldt, who subbed as wet nurse after his wife fell ill as well as male missionaries in Brazil that were the sole milk supply for their children because their wives had shriveled breasts. More recently, Agence France-Presse reported a short piece in on a year-old man in Sri Lanka who nursed his two daughters through their infancy after his wife died during the birth of her second child.
In her book The Tender Gift: Breastfeeding, medical anthropologist Dana Raphael claimed that men could induce lactation simply by stimulating their nipples. But Jack Newman, a Toronto-based doctor and breast-feeding expert, insists that in order to produce milk, a hormone spike must occur.
Newman explains that medical disruptions involving prolactin, the hormone necessary to produce milk, have resulted in spontaneous lactation.
Thorazine, a popular antipsychotic used in the midth century, impacted the pituitary gland—the pea-size endocrine gland located near the base of the brain—often causing it to overproduce prolactin. If prolactin levels remained high, milk could follow.
According to Newman, lactation is listed as a possible side effect of the heart medication digoxin. When mammary glands mature fully in females during puberty, they develop into a state where a hormonal spike—most notably of prolactin—can easily induce lactation. So the difference is a matter of hormonal influence, first during puberty and then again after pregnancy. Provide the right hormones, though, and male lactation is absolutely possible.
One way to do this is through medical intervention. There are a number of ways this can be done, but generally, you need to introduce both estrogen and prolactin into the system, often by injection. Some drugs, like Thorazine—an antipsychotic popular in the midth century—and the heart medication digoxin have induced milk from men as a side effect. The circumstances, as you might guess, are rare. Request an Appointment at Mayo Clinic. Pituitary gland and hypothalamus Open pop-up dialog box Close.
Pituitary gland and hypothalamus The pituitary gland and the hypothalamus are located within the brain and control hormone production.
Share on: Facebook Twitter. Show references Ferri FF. In: Ferri's Clinical Advisor Philadelphia, Pa. Accessed Oct. Golshan M, et al. Nipple discharge. Merck Manual Professional Version.
When creating and updating content, we rely on credible sources: respected health organizations, professional groups of doctors and other experts, and published studies in peer-reviewed journals. We believe you should always know the source of the information you're seeing. Learn more about our editorial and medical review policies. Scientific American. Strange but true: Males can lactate.
Join now to personalize. What an intriguing question! I'm sure that many men have wished they could, especially when they see the closeness that develops between a nursing mother and her infant.
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