by Elizabeth Hormann
When the subject of breastfeeding an adopted baby comes up,
eyebrows often go up as well. Even though the trend in the latter part
of the twentieth century and into this one has been to encourage
breastfeeding, that encouragement has rarely extended to the adoptive
mother and her baby.
Breastfeeding is seen-and rightly so-as a natural extension of the
pregnancy and birth process. But to see it only in this light is to
take too narrow a view both of the concept of breastfeeding and of the
biological possibilities.
Breastfeeding a baby is more that just feeding. It provides a close
intimate interaction between mother and baby that involves all the
senses.
Mother and baby are in touch, skin-to-skin. They may spend part of the
breastfeeding time gazing into each other's eyes.
Mothers talk and croon to their babies while they breastfeed, and
babies from a very early age, make little noises that even the most
inexperienced mother recognizes as sounds of satisfaction.
Breastfed babies are drawn to their mothers' breasts in part by smell
(within a few days after birth they can distinguish their mothers from
other women by smell alone). And babies, like other people, also enjoy
their food because of its taste.
Mothers enjoy that sweet baby smell (all the sweeter if he is being
breastfed) and what mother has not indulged in a little finger nibbling
as she has held her baby close?
These interactions are not exclusive to breastfeeding couples. Many
bottle-feeding mothers and their babies enjoy very close contact with
one another, but this contact is built into the breastfeeding relationship
in an easy comfortable way that is quickly picked up even when both
mother and baby are amateurs.
Adoptive mothers, like mothers of homegrown children, may also want to
have the sort of relationship with their babies that breastfeeding offers.
For the mother adopting because she has been unable to conceive or
carry a baby to term, breastfeeding may offer a share in the
biological experiences of motherhood that have other wise passed her
by.
There are special benefits for the baby as well, his entrance into the
world, no matter how carefully and lovingly arranged by his birth
parents and his adoptive parents, has not been easy. He has been separated
from the mother whose heartbeats and voice and body rhythms he knew
and he has had to make an attachment to a new mother who is, at first,
a complete stranger.
This attachment is far easier to make if he spends a good deal of his
time in her arms, skin-to-skin, close to her heart. There he grows
familiar with and learns to love the sounds of her heart and her
voice, the feel of her skin on his, her special sweet smell and the
face that he will soon prefer above all others.
Breastfeeding has some
physical advantages for the adopted baby as well, though they may not
be as extensive as they are for a baby who has been born to his
mother. Even a small amount of milk (and nearly all adoptive mothers
will have some) can be helpful in protecting against allergies and
provides nutrition that is ideally suited not just to baby in general,
but to this baby in particular.
The baby's mouth at the breasts sends
subtle signals that ensure that his mother's milk is suited to his
developmental stage and has antibodies to the illnesses to which both mother
and baby have been exposed.
The baby who suckles at the breast
regularly-even if his primary nourishment comes from another source-is
using his jaw and facial muscles the way they were meant to be used.
He learns to position his tongue correctly at the gum line and to
swallow in the way a baby should.
The habits he learns suckling at the
breast can have a profound effect on the positioning of his permanent
teeth and on the development of his speech. Alternation from one breast
to another is important to the development of hand-eye coordination.
Convenience
is not usually so much of an advantage in breastfeeding an adoptive
baby as it is in breastfeeding a child you have borne yourself but
if the baby breastfeeds for comfort or to go to sleep, it is just as convenient
for adoptive families at these times as it is for any other family.
Breastfeeding an adopted baby or relactation for a home grown baby is not easy. It
requires time, strong commitment, a good bit of patience, and as
much support as you can muster.
This option may not suit every family
or every baby adopted into a family. But for many
families, there are some compelling advantages.
Breastfeeding an Adopted Baby and Relactation
By Elizabeth Hormann
This book provides
accurate information and strong support to get you started and to keep
you going.
Breastfeeding An Adopted Baby and Relactation is written primarily for
adoptive parents and relactation mothers, as well as for the health
professionals who assist them.
Some of the topics discussed by author
and translator Elizabeth Hormann, IBCLC, include:
Myths about breastfeeding
Preparation for adoptive breastfeeding
Substances that stimulate milk production
Beginning breastfeeding with an adopted baby
Supplements
Special situations
Support for parents
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Breastfeeding
Reading
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