Lactation & Pregnancy Facts

So, you've just finished your fetish story about a lactating pregnant woman who washes her nipples with soap and water every day. What's wrong with this story?

Lots.

Today, as a lactating mother, I will attempt to dispel some of the myths surrounding lactation and pregnancy, which will help make your stories more believable:

Myth:

Pregnant women lactate.

Fact:

Women cannot lactate without the right hormonal support. Women also cannot just spontaneously lactate without proper nipple stimulation, such as a baby nursing or using a breast pump.

Cases have been reported of adopting moms lactating by nursing their baby regularly and sometimes taking galactogogues (medicines with a side effect of lactation; most are not originally designed for this purpose). Galactogogues stimulate prolactin, one of the two hormones necessary for lactation. Oxytocin, the other hormone, is stimulated by relaxation and "bonding" feelings with the baby. After a mom gives birth, both are naturally present.

Pregnancy is an example of a state in which there isn't the right hormonal support for lactation. If lactating women become pregnant, their milk supply would, in the majority of cases, dry up, because different hormones take over during pregnancy. It is impossible for women to lactate when pregnant the way they do, say, when nursing a two-month-old.

If you hear about colostrum, or pre-milk, that can show up during the second half of a pregnancy. It has more antibodies and protein than regular human milk and is clear or yellowish and there's just a drop or two of it, not spewing white streams of milk. Colostrum turns into regular milk after about 2-5 days post-birth. When that transformation happens, it causes engorgement.

Myth:

Lactating women's breasts are always engorged.

Fact:

Mother Nature sends in a huge oversupply to start with, but the mother's body adjusts to make milk on a supply-and-demand basis after a couple of days. If the baby doesn't feed as much one day as usual, the mother's breasts will become engorged, which she can relieve by pumping or hand expressing. If the baby continues to drop nursings, the mother's supply will go down and the engorgement will disappear.

Myth:

Pregnant/lactating women are always horny.

Fact:

Pregnant women, like any other women, go through phases where they are hornier than other times. Their heightened senses and higher genital sensitivity both work for and against better sex during pregnancy.

Also, keep in mind for lactating women that if the baby doesn't sleep through the night yet, the mother might rather catch up on sleep than have sex, and this is completely normal. Another thing that can happen is because the hormonal balance is different and ovulation is often halted, the mother may simply have no interest in sex. This is normal, too, and the return of periods and ovulation combined with the baby sleeping better will often cause a resurge in the mother's horniness similar to prepregnancy.

Myth:

Pregnant and lactating women are supposed to wash their breasts with soap and water every day because the bacteria can be harmful for the baby.

Fact:

Pregnant and lactating women are supposed to avoid using soap on their breasts. Colostrum and breast milk both have anti-infective properties that are actually stronger than soap! In addition, using soap on the breasts early in pregnancy can increase nipple sensitivity and pain. Women in industrialized countries have access to clean, warm water with which to wash their breasts and often go around with their breasts covered so no dirt gets on them. Their breasts are clean enough!

Myth:

Nursing makes women horny/Nursing turns women off.

Fact:

Nursing makes women horny/Nursing turns women off. Depends on the women and how well nursing is established. Most women report nipple pain sometimes accompanied by soreness or cracking during the first 4-6 weeks of nursing, until their nipples adjust to the stretching and pressure. This painful process does not turn on most women. After that, it can go either way.

If it does make them horny, this is perfectly normal and is nature's way of both making sure the baby gets fed because it's a pleasurable experience for mom and perpetuating the species because mom will then seek out dad to make more babies. If it turns them off, it is probably because they feel that their body is for baby only and they feel too "touched out" by the end of the day to devote energy to sex. Either feeling is normal.

Myth:

Lactating women need to use special creams and lotions on their nipples to prevent soreness and cracking.

Fact:

Lanolin is the only medically approved product for that purpose and does not need to be washed off before feeding the baby. Lansinoh makes one and so does Medela.

Myth:

Lactating women spray milk when they cum.

Fact:

Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. Depends on how recently they last nursed and whether they are exclusively breastfeeding or not. In other words, if their supply is lower, spraying during orgasm is less likely.

I will add more to this piece as I think of more myths and facts, but I think this covers the most major errors I've seen. Please, if you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to contact me.

Good luck writing your pregnancy and lactation fetish stories!