Breastfed Adult：All You Need to Know ANR

Are Breastfed Adults Healthier Physically and Mentally? 

Breast milk is the best thing for babies to drink! It fits the needs of newborns perfectly. Research has reported that breastfeeding can decrease the risk of childhood diseases such as blood pressure, diabetes, and certain types of cancer in babies¹.

The benefits of breast milk have also been described in numerous other studies. For example, a 2016 study found that adults who were breastfed as children had lower levels of negative affectivity, hatred, anxiety, and higher levels of positivity and open-mindedness than adults who were not breastfed². This research also suggests that there is a link between breastfeeding length and the result.

That's all about breastfeeding in the babies. What about adults who want to taste breastmilk out of curiosity, to reap the health benefits, or just for the sake of enjoyment? Is It safe for them? 

Read on to learn all about adult breastfeeding. 

 

Can Adults Be Breastfed? Is It Safe? 

Breast milk is not only perfectly fine for grownups to drink, but it may also have some surprising health benefits.

As we know, breast milk helps in the improvement of a baby's immune system, which is one of its primary roles. That's because it's packed with white blood cells and antibodies, which protect the body from harmful bacteria and infections. In some cases when a baby is fighting off a bacterial or viral infection, researchers have found that the white blood cell levels in breast milk can increase to as high as 94% of the total cells in the milk³.  

That is why immunocompromised people, such as those fighting cancer, organ transplant recipients, the elderly, or anyone battling an infection, may benefit from breast milk because of the high concentration of antibodies and white blood cells.

Additionally, according to some scientific studies, breast milk has been suggested to aid patients with digestive disorders, including Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and other inflammatory bowel diseases⁴.

 

Is It Common For An Adult To Be Breastfed? 

Adult breastfeeding is becoming increasingly popular and intriguing, despite the fact that the practice may seem unusual to the general public. For example, each month, between 10K to 100K searches are made on Google for terms such as 'adult breastfeeding’, ‘breastfeeding adult', or 'breastfed adult'. 

 

Is It Possible To Start Adult Breastfeeding (Abf) Without Being Pregnant?

Adult Breastfeeding (Abf) or Adult nursing relationship (ARN) is something that a lot of individuals try out after they've already been through the experience of breastfeeding a little child or toddler. However, having already nursed a child is not always necessary in order to breastfeed your husband/partner. 

Yes! You can breastfeed your husband/partner without being pregnant. Various medicines and dietary supplements are available to force lactation. However, breastfeeding in this way is not a simple task. The procedure demands a determined effort, which includes constant pumping or hand expression of breast milk.

 

What do You need To Do Before Starting The Adult Nursing Relationship (ARN)?

1. Most importantly, both you and your husband/partner need to agree and be committed to the breastfeeding relationship. If both seem interested and excited, it can be a lot easier.
2. Another important thing to consider while starting ANR, you must decide why you want to breastfeed your adult partner/husband: to sexually stimulate them or to make them feel comfortable and calm. Before breastfeeding, you both need to discuss this. So, before you try to breastfeed for the first time, you’ll want to make sure the environment is suitable whether you're breastfeeding to sexually stimulate you both or to nurture your partner and develop a closer bond. After deciding what you want from a relationship, then set the mood.

 

Why You Might Want To Get Into Adult Breastfeeding? 

For women: 

• For the feeling to give 'love' and 'need' to the husband/partner.
• For 'erotic lactation', is an act of sexual arousal that can result in orgasm in women.
• To improve the milk supply level to the newborn. That is because additional breast stimulation and milk drainage by a partner can naturally increase milk production.
• To help remove clogged milk ducts, nipple blebs, breast engorgement, or mastitis.
• To increase intimacy. Breastfeeding your partner may make you more intimate with your lover. It could be a wonderful and fulfilling experience to share this area of your body and your life with an adult loved one.

For men:

• For the curiosity about the breast milk taste
• For health reasons as mentioned about. Breast milk has some particular benefits due to its rich antibodies and white blood cells.
• For the feeling to be loved and taken care of
• For 'erotic lactation', an act of sexual arousal that can also be an extremely exciting experience for men. Sucking on the breast of a partner is one of the most comfortable and intimate acts that one may have with their partner.

 

How To Start Adult Breastfeeding (Abf) Or Adult Nursing Relationship (ANR)? 

• When a mother breastfeeds her newborn, she can also produce additional milk for her husband or partner. The only problem is that she has to produce an extra amount of milk to fulfill the needs of baby and the husband/partner.

She can continue with an adult breastfeeding relationship (ARN) even after weaning. This means that when the baby reaches a certain age, she could gradually introduce the baby to formula milk and solids while feeding her husband breast milk.

• As has been mentioned earlier, it is possible to induce lactation in nonpregnant women. Here are the detailed steps. The theory is to use three hormones (Progesterone, estrogen, and prolactin) to imitate the whole pregnancy to trick the body so as to force lactation. The method can be applied to three different conditions depending on the time you have for preparation:
  • Less than 30 days  
  • Between 30 to 90 days 
  • More than 90 days 

There is also a way to induce lactation without the three hormones or any medication. Without hormones, the only way to get your breasts to make milk is to pump, suckle, and stimulate them. The most important thing is frequency. You should try to get milk out of your breasts every three hours. Also, at least one pumping session should be done at night.

 

How To Maintain Or Increase Milk Supply?

In theory, your body makes breast milk based on the laws of supply and demand. As long as your baby and husband are latching on to your breast well, the more you breastfeed, the higher the supply. However, some women find it challenging to keep up with the demand despite of the frequent stimulation.

To increase your milk supply, you can try Milk Boost tea. Many people have tried it and had great results. Using three bags a day can boost the breast milk supply fast within 1-3 days. On the other hand, using one bag a day not only maintains the supply level but also helps the mother recover faster from birth-giving. 

 

Any Potential Risks Might Happen During Adult Breastfeeding?

In general, it's not a problem to breastfeed your adult husband/partner. However, you should always check your own health status before starting. This is because some transmissible diseases can be spread through breast milk.

On the other hand, the husband/partner may also spread disease to both the baby and the mother through mouth and breast contact such as herpes simplex.

In addition to the discomfort associated with infrequent expression, some women tend to be also at risk of developing clogged milk ducts, mastitis, breast engorgement, nipple blebs, or breast infection if they do not express milk regularly. In these cases, Unblock Nursing Tea is suggested. It contains some 'cooling herbs' such as Dandelions or Chrysanthemum flowers that can fight off the above symptoms.

 

Sources:

1. Sutin AR, Stephan Y, Terracciano A. Breastfeeding and Adult Personality. Eur J Pers. 2016 Sep-Oct;30(5):484-491. doi: 10.1002/per.2030. Epub 2016 Oct 16. PMID: 28966441; PMCID: PMC5614468.
2. Boix-Amorós, A., Collado, M. C., Van’t Land, B., Calvert, A., Le Doare, K., Garssen, J., ... & Munblit, D. (2019). Reviewing the evidence on breast milk composition and immunological outcomes. Nutrition reviews, 77(8), 541-556.
3. Hassiotou F, Hepworth AR, Metzger P, et al. Maternal and infant infections stimulate a rapid leukocyte response in breastmilk. Clin Transl Immunology. 2013;2(4):e3. Published 2013 Apr 12. Doi:10.1038/cti.2013.1
4. Eyal Klement, Regev V Cohen, Jonathan Boxman, Aviva Joseph, Shimon Reif, Breastfeeding and risk of inflammatory bowel disease: a systematic review with meta-analysis, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 80, Issue 5, November 2004, Pages 1342–1352, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/80.5.1342