
... Male lactation is physiologically possible and, according to Dr. Robert Greenblatt, production in males can be stimulated by letting a baby suckle for several weeks. Indeed some human males secrete milk at birth and at puberty.Historically, male lactation was noted by the German explorer Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt prior to 1859, who wrote of a 32-year-old man who breastfed his child for five months. It was also observed in a 55-year-old Baltimore man who had been the wetnurse of the children of his mistress.
... I think it is safe to say that women are better suited to breastfeeding than men are. They generally produce milk soon after birth, with little or no nipple stimulation. If a mother is completely out of the picture, however, as in the case of adoption, or a mother goes back to work and a baby is left in the care of its father, for some families male breastfeeding might be an acceptable alternative to formula bottles and pacifiers.
The number of out-of-wedlock births has reached a record high in the U.S., with nearly four in 10 babies born last year to unmarried women, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The increase was seen in all racial groups.
Unlike two decades ago, teenagers – who are having fewer babies – are not driving the trend. It is fueled, in part, by women in their 30s and 40s, many of whom had put off marriage and family for careers. And single mothers have fought to remove the stigma of raising children out of wedlock.
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