The phenomenon of male lactation in humans has become more common in recent years due to the use of medications that stimulate a man's mammary glands. Though boys and men have nipples, many are unaware that they also have mammary glands. Ordinarily there is so little mammary tissue that it is unnoticeable; if the male breasts develop visibly, the condition is called gynecomastia. Under the appropriate hormonal stimulus—that nature provides to human females when they become pregnant and give birth—the mammary glands of human males can also produce milk. The volume of milk produced is low relative to that of a lactating female. Male lactation has, in some cases, commenced without hormonal treatments as well.^{[citation needed]} Newborn baby boys (and girls) can occasionally produce milk because of the intense hormones involved in their mother's pregnancy and the hours of childbirth; this is called witches' milk. Kittens nursing Lactation describes the secretion of milk from the mammary glands, the process of providing that milk to the young, and the period of time that a mother lactates to feed her young. ... Oral medication A medication is a licenced drug taken to cure or reduce symptoms of an illness or medical condition. ... Cross section of the breast of a human female. ... Typical human female nipple and areola. ... Gynecomastia (pronounced GUY-nuh-ko-MASS-tee-uh; IPA pronunciation: ) is the development of abnormally large mammary glands in males resulting in breast enlargement, which can sometimes cause secretion of milk. ... A pregnant woman Pregnancy is the process by which a mammalian female carries a live offspring from conception until it develops to the point where the offspring is capable of living outside the womb. ... Childbirth (also called labour, birth, partus or parturition) is the culmination of a human pregnancy with the emergence of a newborn infant from its mothers uterus. ... A glass of cows milk A goat kid feeding on its mothers milk Milk is the nutrient fluid secreted by the mammary glands of female mammals (including monotremes). ... Witchs milk or neonatal milk is milk secreted from the breasts of some newborn infants. ...

Male lactation is most commonly caused by hormonal treatments given to men suffering from prostate cancer. Female hormones are used to slow the production of cancerous prostate tissue, but the same hormones also stimulate the mammary glands. Male-to-female transsexuals may also produce milk due to the hormones they take to reshape their bodies. Extreme stress combined with demanding physical activity and a shortage of food has also been known to cause male lactation. The phenomenon was first studied in survivors of the liberated Nazi concentration camps after World War II. Some American POWs returning from the Korean and Vietnam Wars also experienced male lactation. Prostate cancer is a disease in which cancer develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. ... Norepinephrine A hormone (from Greek όρμή - to set in motion) is a chemical messenger from one cell (or group of cells) to another. ... A transsexual (sometimes transexual) person establishes a permanent identity with the opposite gender to their assigned (usually at birth) sex. ... In medical terms, stress is a physical or psychological stimulus that can produce mental or physiological reactions that may lead to illness. ... Prior to and during World War II Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps (Konzentrationslager or KZ) throughout the territory it controlled. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000...

It is also possible for males (and females) to induce lactation through constant massage and simulated 'sucking' of the nipple over a long period of time (months)^{[citation needed]}.

The phenomenon of male lactation occurs in one non-human species, the Dayak fruit bat (Dyacopterus spadiceus), and the lactating males may assist in the nursing of their infants. In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biodiversity. ... Binomial name Dyacopterus spadiceus (Thomas, 1890) The Dayak fruit bat or Dyak fruit bat (Dyacopterus spadiceus) is found in Sumatra, Borneo, the Philippines, and the Malay Peninsula. ... Binomial name Dyacopterus spadiceus (Thomas, 1890) The Dayak fruit bat or Dyak fruit bat (Dyacopterus spadiceus) is found in Sumatra, Borneo, the Philippines, and the Malay Peninsula. ... Breastfeeding an infant Symbol for breastfeeding (Matt Daigle, Mothering magazine contest winner 2006) Breastfeeding is the process of a woman feeding an infant or young child with milk from her breasts. ... A human infant An infant or baby is a person younger than a toddler. ...

According to several sources, male lactation and even nursing have occasionally been observed in humans.^{[citation needed]}

In Why Is Sex Fun?, Jared Diamond reports of male and female cancer patients being treated with estrogen who proceeded to lactate when injected with prolactin, and suggests that mechanical stimulation of male breasts, by releasing prolactin, could result in lactation. He also mentions teenage boys lactating after self stimulation of their nipples. ^[1] Why is Sex Fun? The Evolution of Human Sexuality is a book by Jared Diamond dealing with the evolutionary reasons for the development of some peculiar aspects of human sexuality (for example, why womens ovulation is not overtly advertised, as it is in all other mammals). ... Jared Mason Diamond (born 10 September 1937) is an American evolutionary biologist, physiologist, biogeographer and nonfiction author. ... Estriol. ... Prolactin is a peptide hormone synthesised and secreted by lactotrope cells in the adenohypophysis (anterior pituitary gland). ...

Infant lactation

Both male and female babies may lactate for a brief period immediately after birth because the baby gets a share of the hormones that were preparing the mother to lactate just prior to giving birth. "For this reason, the baby's breasts also contain colostrum,"^[2] the antibody rich substance available from the mother's breasts before true milk begins to be produced. Colostrum (also known as beestings or first milk) is a form of milk produced by the mammary glands in late pregnancy and the few days after giving birth. ...

See also

• Male pregnancy

Male pregnancy is the carrying of one or more embryos or fetuses by the male of any species inside their bodies. ...

References

1. ^ Jared Diamond, Why is Sex Fun? The Evolution of Human Sexuality, ISBN 0-465-03126-9
2. ^ Erwin J. Haeberle, The Sex Atlas, p. 54. ISBN 0-8164-9124-0

1. Angier, Natalie; New York Times, February 24, 1994. Cr. J. Covey.
2. Francis, Charles M., et al; "Lactation in Male Fruit Bats," Nature, 367:691, 1994.
3. Fackelmann, K.A.; Science News, 145:148, 1994.
4. Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine G.M. Gould and W.L. Pyle

Jared Mason Diamond (born 10 September 1937) is an American evolutionary biologist, physiologist, biogeographer and nonfiction author. ... Why is Sex Fun? The Evolution of Human Sexuality is a book by Jared Diamond dealing with the evolutionary reasons for the development of some peculiar aspects of human sexuality (for example, why womens ovulation is not overtly advertised, as it is in all other mammals). ...

External links

• Sri Lanka Man nurses Daughter
• Milkmen: Fathers Who Breastfeed