Induced Lactation:

Colostrum and breast milk to a NICU nurse is liquid gold. I’m an Assisted Reproduction attorney but also a former Level IV NICU nurse. I’m educated about and deeply aware of the lifelong benefits breast milk provides a baby even if provided for only a short period of time after birth. Hopeful of finding a way to nurse my baby son being born via surrogacy, I researched “induced lactation” online and discussed it with the lactation nurses in my hospital NICU, a highly respected high-risk maternal-infant care center. I found an informative online resource at www.asklenore.com. With the approval and encouragement of my physician and my pediatrician, and by following the recommended protocols on the website, I was able to induce lactation and successfully nursed my son for eight months. I'm so grateful to have had this sweet experience with my baby. Upon learning I had my son via surrogacy, my Assisted Reproduction legal clients/expectant moms over the years have expressed wishes they could nurse their babies. I've referred them to asklenore.com and they've achieved varying degrees of successfully inducing lactation and nursing their babies.  While nursing a baby is absolutely not necessary to have a normal, healthy bond and a loving relationship with a baby born through surrogacy or adoption, if it's the right fit for an expectant mom, it can be a lovely, rewarding experience for mom and baby. 

Judith Hoechst , R.N.C., J.D.