Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Over the last twenty years, infertility has continued to rise. According to the WHO, the global incidence of infertility is 17.5%. Adoption is the legal process of achieving parenthood without birth. Since breastfeeding has many nutritional and psychological benefits, induced lactation, the initiation of lactation in a person who has not given birth, may be of interest to some families. We report a case of nonpuerperal induced lactation in a woman.

Observation: A healthy 33-year-old nulliparous woman consulted the endocrinology department for help in inducing lactation before adopting a child. She was prescribed ethinyl estradiol/Drospirenone 0.03 mg/3 mg daily. After 4 weeks, the patient was matched with a child. Therefore, we have decided to use the accelerated protocol. We continued ethinyl estradiol/ Drospirenone and started taking 20 mg of domperidone four times daily. Domperidone is a dopamine antagonist that stimulates prolactin secretion. After 2 months, significant changes in the breasts, including size and the sensation of being heavy and full, were noted, so the pill was stopped and the 80 mg of domperidone per day was continued. Our patient then started expressing milk with an electric double-pump every 3 hours and at least once a night. The adoptive mother initially expressed 10 ml of milk per day. After increasing water intake and adding galactogenic foods (fenugreek seeds, oat bran, fennel, sesame) she expressed 30 ml/day.

Conclusion: Breastfeeding has immunological, metabolic and psychosocial advantages for both mother and infant. In addition, in Muslim countries, breastfeeding establishes religious milk kinship. Despite the growing interest in induced lactation, many health professionals lack detailed knowledge. Prioritising the provision of adequate support and guidance to all women who wish to breastfeed should be a key focus for health professionals. This approach would improve the overall health of both woman and child and lead to increased rates of breastfeeding.