Lactation After Surrogacy: Options for Feeding Your Baby
As you embark on your surrogacy journey, you will naturally plan for your new role as a parent. This opens up a world of decisions, including how to nourish your little one once they arrive.
With the help of Natalie, a seasoned Lactation Consultant and La Leche League Leader, we’ve gathered information about your options for feeding your baby via surrogacy.
Natalie has worked as a chest-feeding Peer Counselor at WIC and has nursed four children herself. With over 11 years of experience, Natalie has become passionate about helping families with chest-feeding, including exceptional circumstances such as surrogacy. Read on to learn about chest-feeding, pumping milk, and nourishing babies.
A note from Heartland Surrogacy: the term “breastfeeding” carries a gender assumption linked to female anatomy, excluding diverse experiences. To ensure inclusivity, our agency uses the term “chest-feeding” as an alternative, acknowledging a broader range of gender identities, body types, and methods involved in infant feeding.
What is a Lactation Consultant?
Natalie explains
that an IBCLC is an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant. IBCLCs are healthcare professionals who specialize in chest- feeding and lactation clinical management.
According to the IBCLC Commission, there are three pathways for eligibility: Health Sciences Education, a minimum of 95 hours of lactation-specific education, and relevant clinical experience. These three eligibility pathways permit individuals from diverse backgrounds to gain the knowledge and skills pertinent to practicing as an IBCLC. The certifying exam consists of 175 multiple-choice questions and is divided into two parts. The entire test is approximately 4 hours in duration.
Feeding Babies Born Via Surrogacy
When it comes to providing nutrition for their newborn, intended parents have many feeding options:
Induced Lactation
Inducing lactation for intended parents is a gradual process that can be initiated months before the surrogate gives birth or, depending on circumstances, after the baby’s arrival. Inducing lactation should be done under the guidance of a medical professional. Hormone therapy is often employed to mimic the natural process that the human body undergoes during pregnancy and labor, effectively triggering lactation. Nipple stimulation via an electric pump or hand pump is then used to mimic the baby suckling to increase the milk supply. Milk is produced by supply and demand so the more often the milk is removed, the more will be produced.
Supplementation
The Supplem
ental Nursing System (SNS) is an excellent way for babies to get all the nutrients they need while chest-feeding without the hassle of preparing and cleaning bottles. It consists of a container (disposable or reusable) and a capillary tube leading from the container to the lactating parent’s nipple. This system allows parents to use their own milk, the surrogate’s milk, donor milk, or formula during feedings.
Bottle-feeding Your Baby
Bottle-feeding is a popular option that offers flexibility. Right from the start, intended parents can choose to feed their baby with bottles, which is excellent for families with multiple caregivers. This way, everyone can take turns with nighttime feedings. Bottle feeding also comes with additional factors to consider. We suggest you read about choosing bottles and nipples, warming the bottle, cleaning the bottles and nipples, and using safe feeding positions. Parents can feed their baby human milk from their surrogate, a donor, or from a parent, formula, or freeze dried human milk from a bottle.
There can be various combinations of these options as well. Depending on what all parties would like to do, sometimes a surrogate or gestational carrier will continue to provide milk for the baby/babies for some time after the birth. Another option is for the surrogate to donate their milk to a milk bank or other family in need. You can also freeze dry human milk so it lasts longer! This also makes it easier to travel with and ship.
Lactation Resources for Intended Parents
Evaluating your situation with an IBCLC and finding chest-feeding support is very important. For lactation consultants who support parents trying to induce lactation, there are many excellent professional groups online consisting of people with many different experiences. Bekki Hockman leads a Facebook group for non-gestational parents, and her story about inducing lactation provides a relatable perspective.
According to the Hospital Infant Feeding Network, the protocol for inducing lactation is called the Newman Goldfarb protocol because it was designed by Dr. Jack Newman and his patient, Lenore Goldfarb. It uses a combination of contraceptive hormones, physical stimulation with a chest pump, and domperidone medication to mimic the hormonal changes of pregnancy and birth.
Research is still being pursued to see if this is an effective means to introduce lactation among people born biologically male. The National Library of Medicine highlights one such study here.
Of course, each family is unique. And, like all families, creative ways can be used to feed and care for babies. So, yes, using a combination of the above is common, just as using a combination of feeding methods is common in other situations outside of surrogacy.
Choose a system that feels natural and right for your family’s needs. You may change your process a few days or a few months into parenthood, and that’s completely fine!
Pumping After Surrogacy
For gestational carriers, communicate with the intended parents and see what you are all comfortable with. That could be nursing or pumping in those first days or providing human milk long-term. Keep an open mind. Plans and feelings can change on both ends. There are no rights or wrongs here, but respecting feelings and boundaries is vital.
This should be a joint agreement between all parties involved. If the intended parents will not be using the carrier’s milk, they may choose to continue lactating and donate their milk instead.
If the carrier decides not to express their milk or stop before a previously agreed time frame, it is valid and should be respected. They may find it helpful to talk to an IBCLC or a chest-feeding counselor to assist with the cessation of lactation. Gradually limiting pumping sessions as the lactating person weans off the pump will help their body adjust more easily and help prevent engorgement, plugged ducts, or mastitis.
Additional Resources
Milk banks are scattered across the country. Depending on where you live, you might have a milk bank local to you! Reference the HMBANA member milk bank map to find the milk bank closest to you. Utilizing your local milk bank will save a lot of resources and time for both you and the milk bank since you can cut out the process of packing and shipping the milk. If you don’t have a milk bank local to you, there are nationwide milk banks you can work with. We recommend looking into the Mother’s Milk Bank, the Human Milk Foundation, or The Milk Bank.
Thank You Natalie
The saying “It takes a village to raise a child.” is true! One of the best things you can do for yourself and your baby is to find your “village” while you are pregnant. Whether that village is online, in person, or if you are lucky enough to have family and friends that live close by, you aren’t meant to do this alone, so don’t be afraid to reach out. To find a La Leche League meeting or leader near you, visit their website. To learn more about Natalie’s work, please visit her website at qclactation.com.
We Are Here for You
Planning ahead for your baby’s arrival is crucial, and Heartland Surrogacy‘s case management includes comprehensive support through your early days as a parent. Contact us so we can help you make informed decisions about starting your surrogacy journey and becoming a parent. Let us guide you to a confident and nourishing start to parenthood.
