How much breast milk can an adoptive mother provide her baby?
A. In the past, it was believed that a woman already lactating at the time of adoption, and women who had breastfed previously could more easily stimulate an ample milk supply than a non-lactating woman. However, data accumulated since 1969 indicates otherwise. Generally, women lactating into the second year postpartum or later, as in toddler nursing, are not usually able to totally breastfeed a subsequently adopted infant while “tandem nursing” an older non-adopted child. Likewise, women who have breastfed and weaned other infants prior to adopting, in general, do not lactate enough to breastfeed totally without supplements. There have been reports of unusual success, but these are either anecdotal, or mentions in studies with only a few participants, and with essential details omitted or not clearly defined. Also, the duration of time that breastfeeding is unsupplemented, or supplemented with non-liquid foods (solids) is usually not defined or explained. In the Auerbach & Avery study
