Many people are not aware that it is possible to breastfeed an adopted child. Mothers may choose to do this for nutritional reasons or bonding reasons or both.

Most adoptive moms can indeed produce some milk for their babies, but few can produce a full supply. There are some handy little gadgets that moms can use to supplement the baby while at the breast and to increase the baby's interest in nursing. Experts say that even 4 ounces of breast milk a day is enough to give babies all the immunities and health benefits of nursing.

In my opinion, however, bonding is an even more important reason to breastfeed than nutrition. Most adoptive moms bring their babies home weeks or months after birth, so they've missed out on some of that tiny-baby cuddling. Nursing is one way to help make up for that time.


I was able to breastfeed several of my adopted kids. One was 4 months on homecoming and had never nursed. He transitioned over to breastfeeding in about 3 days. I used a Lactaid to supplement my own milk.

The next success was a 20 month old who had been in the orphanage nearly a year. I bottlefed her skin to skin for about a month and then she became comfortable enough to try nursing and loved it. Of course since she was older it was more for bonding than nutrition but it was GREAT for bonding.

I had missed out on so much of her babyhood it was a nice way for us to catch up on the time we'd missed and get well bonded. She had a very smoooth adjustment and I really credit the nursing. Of course nursing a toddler is not for everyone, but I had nursed toddlers before and was very comfortable with the concept.

My most recent baby came home at 6 months of age and nursed for a year, but only while asleep. She never did get comfortable with nursing while awake, but happily nursed for long periods of time during her sleep.

A good website to get tons more information is The Adoptive Breastfeeding Research Website It is FULL of fabulous information about adoptive breastfeeding.

Of course you can't assume that every baby will take to nursing, especially past the age of 6 months or so. Past 3 months or so, most babies will need some weeks of transition time to get comfortable enough to try nursing. And there are lots of other ways to bond with your baby. But if you and your baby are both interested in giving it a try, adoptive nursing is one more really good way to build attachment.

More about attachment
Those crucial first months
How long does it take to build attachment?