Grandmothers CAN breastfeed! I'm a top lactation consultant and here's how it's done By Caoimhe Whelan Published: 16:58, 17 July 2024 | Updated: 16:58, 17 July 2024 e-mail View comments Actress Fay Ripley made headlines yesterday when she said that in future she would happily breastfeed her grandchildren – her own children are currently aged 17 and 21. The reactions were swift and mixed – some people were shocked, thinking it is physically impossible, while others found the idea distasteful. But the fact is, grandmothers can breastfeed their grandchildren.
If they have previously breastfed, this is known as relactation. If a woman who's never been pregnant starts breastfeeding, this is called induced lactation. Actress Fay Ripley made headlines yesterday when she said that in future she would happily breastfeed her grandchildren.
Pictured with her daughter Parker Lapaine in 2021 Relactation is generally possible for mothers who have previously breastfed, however, the longer that gap is, the more difficult it may be A key paper published in 1956 reported on the experiences of ten grandmothers who 'relacted' for their grandchildren. Significantly, the quality of the milk doesn't seem to be significantly different with relactation either, according to a study published in 1980 in the Journal of Paediatrics – although the women who had never been pregnant but then breastfed ('induced lactation') did not produce colostrum, the first form of milk produced by an expectant mum,.
