Don't read this if you're about to go to bed

[Viking 1]

Some guy calling himself Michael Thomsen writes on Slate:


You don't see many men in the lactation section of Buy Buy Baby, but that's where I was when I bought my first breast pump. I wasn't there on a mission for a pregnant wife or girlfriend. I was preparing to test an obscure secret of biology: Men can lactate. While not widely known, the image of the breast-feeding male dates back thousands of years. The Bible provides one in Numbers 11:12, where Moses complains to God about the difficulties of watching over the freed slaves in the Sinai wilderness: "Have I begotten them, that you should say to me, Carry them in your bosom, as a nursing father bears the sucking child … ?" (There's a more literal reference in the Talmud.) In more recent times, Charles Darwin himself observed that "it is well known that in the males of all mammals, including man, rudimentary mammæ exist. These in several instances have become well developed, and have yielded a copious supply of milk."

Since Darwin, male lactation has been observed in other animals, including the Dayak fruit bat, the domestic goat, and the guinea pig. Yet this fact of nature has been ignored, to the point where its opposite assumption—that men are physically incapable of producing milk—has been used to advocate for government control of human relationships. "We can … agree that men can't breastfeed," said attorney David Thompson, arguing against the 2010 appeal of California's gay-marriage ban, "and breastfeeding clearly has benefits for children in that it provides sources of immunity that are beneficial to children."

The more I learned about male lactation, the more curious I became. I'm 33 years old and single in New York City, a cross between Carrie Bradshaw and George Costanza—if there's such a thing as a male biological clock, mine has started ticking. I know I can't birth a child myself, but what if I could bear one to suck at my bosom? Could my rudimentary mammae yield a copious supply of milk?

Given the challenge before me, I was pleased to learn that the production of breast milk is a relatively simple process. The breast tissue of both men and women contains small clusters of alveoli that produce milk in response to a hormone produced by the pituitary gland called prolactin. Under normal circumstances, women have about one-third more prolactin coursing through their veins than men, and during pregnancy, they make more than 10 times as much. The reproductive prolactin spike causes the breasts to swell and produce milk. In theory, you don't have to be pregnant to start lactating—all you need is the hormone rush.

http://www.slate.com/id/2295405

It goes on like that.
For 15 more paragraphs.
Time to brew me a pot of supercaf.
:scared:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. I think it's really cool that men can lactate!

There is really nothing like nursing a baby...

I would even take it over an incredible orgasm. I think...

:hi:

[Viking 1]

7. Don't women sometimes orgasm while breastfeeding?

I don't personally know any. (Then again, why would they tell me?)

[Ilsa]

10. My understanding is that is pretty rare. I breastfed for many years. It

usually just relaxed me and made me sleepy, not stimulated me sexually.

As a former consultant, I read tons of educational materials about lactation. If all or even some mothers occasionally orgasmed during a session, I think I would have been reading alot more articles about it.

[ehrnst]

11. The same chemicals released in orgasm are released in breastfeeding.

I don't know of anyone that has had a orgasm during breastfeeding, but the feeling of contentment after both is very similar.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

14. I don't think so.

I do have one girlfriend whose milk would spray across the room when she got to orgasm, when she was breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding is not a sexual experience. The hormones released in the mom while she nurses her baby are the kind that make her feel calm, relaxed and happy.

[xmas74]

17. It just made me sleepy.

I admit to sometimes falling asleep. It worked better than any sleeping pills.

[laundry_queen]

18. Oh, totally same here! I finally stopped nursing the baby while

sitting up. I was afraid to drop her if I dozed off!

[xmas74]

19. We used to snuggle down together

because even sitting up I'd start to nod off!

I understand the fear of dropping her-I had the same with my daughter.

[dkf]

2. Ugh. That is so revolting it is funny.

You guys are killing me tonight.

[Poll_Blind]

3. Dude, I am SO going to be hosing all of you down with my milk! So just don't be surprised.

Wait, I can just milk my Dayak fruit bat?

Dude, I am SO going to be hosing all of you down with my bat's milk! And when he's complaining about sore nipples it'll sound like that jibber jabber he does all the time, anyway...



PB

[RandySF]

4. Slate, huh?

Now I understand why Dave Weigel works there.

[Maru Kitteh]

5. There is nothing more sacred than sustaining the life of a child with your own body.

Women who have never had a child can and do become wet nurses.

The milk ducts of men are generally very underdeveloped but this guy describes himself as part George Costanza. We might take from this that he is overweight, and if that is so, his fat cells are producing estrogen, as ALL fat cells do. If he has always been heavy, he has probably always had more estrogen in his body than a thinner male might. This could develop his breast tissue (including the milk ducts) more than they would normally be, and it could conceivably leave him with more "maternal" type longings.

I won't judge.

[Fearless]

6. Who cares? Why is this a big deal? Looks like some people need to grow up.

[glowing]

8. I first learned about this from a transgendered porn star...

She (I'll say she because that's the way she lives) was telling us about some of her friends that were "escorts" and the kinky men (republicans that like diapers and shit) have requests for lactating trans... so some of her friends get big money to play "mommy" to men who want to suck on their breasts. I had never heard of this before. Ewe.. just the thought of a diapered david vitter sucking a lactating male trans just is too much.

[0rganism]

9. reminds me of...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OkcucXIuVI

[originalpckelly]

12. Hey, now I know what to do if I run out of milk.

:spank:

[rug]

13. We've been overdue for a male lactation thread.

[kentauros]

16. But it can't be done at Olive Garden.

It'll have to be at Hooters }(

[Viking 1]

15. Kick for the Friday night crowd

}(

[Viking 1]

20. Damn! I forgot to kick this for Sat nite!

Well, tomorrow is a holiday, so there oughtta be some night owls on the forum now. :rofl:

[krispos42]

21. Dave Attell did a bit about this...

IIRC, he thought it would be a great idea if male nipples could shoot out toy paratroopers or beer.


No, wait, not beer, because then your buddies would want to suck on your nipples!


:D