Will HRT enable us to lactate?

[ddone]

Will HRT enable us to lactate? How long can we lactate by using HRT?

[ddone]

I cannot, but some people claim they can. Anyone know the answer for sure?

[Penny Gurl]

I actually recently saw a documentary that happened to have Dr. Christine McGinn in it after her partner gave birth to their child and Dr. McGinn was breastfeeding her child.  So I would venture to guess that as long as all the ducts are formed properly then you should be able to lactate.

[Ms. OBrien CVT]

It is possible, although Oxytocin is the primary hormone that facilitates milk letdown.

[Elspeth]

Letdown assumes milk production in the first place.  "Letdown" is the process that begins, usually, when an infant latches on, though some nursing mothers will experience a boost in oxytocin (and sometimes uninvited letdown) from other stimuli, such as hearing a baby cry, or other emotional triggering events.

The details given on this site seem to be generally accurate about what happens to stimulate lactation, and how that process can be mirrored, at least to a degree, for transwomen. As the article points out, several hormones involved in bringing on lactation as part of a typical pregnancy are not readily or cheaply available.  I can't vouch for the site's accuracy... seems like this is something that it likely to vary in success, depending on age and other factors that are raised in the article itself.

[Shantel]

Will HRT enable us to lactate? How long can we lactate by using HRT?

No lactation will not happen just being on HRT, however once the breasts are sufficiently developed one can cause lactation purposefully but I can't discuss the process here. All that information is available on the Internet.

[Rena-san]

Let me first say that I have weird hormone levels before I started HRT. My prolactin was 47 (no clue about the unit), but the lab that measured my prolactin had a scale and for males it was supposed to be between 5-12. And I know an almost full term female is like 50 on their scale, so 47 is high. My doctor acted like it was no big deal. She said that if it was a tumor my prolactin levels would be in the hundreds. Additionaly, my progestorone was also quite high for a male.
Anyway, I had been on HRT for 4 months and decided to have an actual breast exam. Besides finding out I had Tanner stage III breast development, I also found out I lactate rather easily! The doctor was doing her thing and she said, . . . "they look good, and theres a lot of fluid coming form the right nipple here, it looks like you are lactating." BTW, I was giggling the whole time, it hurt/tickled so much!

Um, so yes, with HRT and a few months, I experienced lactation.

[Shantel]

Let me first say that I have weird hormone levels before I started HRT. My prolactin was 47 (no clue about the unit), but the lab that measured my prolactin had a scale and for males it was supposed to be between 5-12. And I know an almost full term female is like 50 on their scale, so 47 is high. My doctor acted like it was no big deal. She said that if it was a tumor my prolactin levels would be in the hundreds. Additionaly, my progestorone was also quite high for a male.
Anyway, I had been on HRT for 4 months and decided to have an actual breast exam. Besides finding out I had Tanner stage III breast development, I also found out I lactate rather easily! The doctor was doing her thing and she said, . . . "they look good, and theres a lot of fluid coming form the right nipple here, it looks like you are lactating." BTW, I was giggling the whole time, it hurt/tickled so much!

Um, so yes, with HRT and a few months, I experienced lactation.

Yes I do understand how that would happen and I know it does, however you're outside the norm, generally anyone who would want to lactate would have to bump those numbers up through pharmaceutical means. So I wouldn't want to mislead anyone to think that by simply going on HRT they will lactate.

[Ms. OBrien CVT]

After reading this thread I decided to just check and I am lactating.  Albeit one one side and only a little but still.

[Shantel]

After reading this thread I decided to just check and I am lactating.  Albeit one one side and only a little but still.

Mrs OBrien, you'll have need of the neighbor's baby then huh?