Hysteria is the mental illness resulting from a uterus that won't stay put,
but wanders through the body, wreaking havoc wherever it goes.  Lactation
hysteria is a syndrome I have just invented, characterized by the belief
that breastfeeding is dependent on having a uterus under the influence of
cyclically fluctuating ovarian hormones.  

Would anyone find it odd that someone could still eat even though they
lacked tonsils, or a thyroid gland?  Doubt it.  Lactation is a mammary gland
function.  Mammary glands, once developed, are not dependent on ovarian
hormones for their continued functioning.  The hormones of lactation do have
an effect on the menstrual cycle, which may be where the confusion arises.
But it is lactation which affects ovaries, not the other way around.  The
uterus is less relevant - except that a breastfeeding woman without a uterus
is very unlikely to experience premature weaning due to a subsequent
pregnancy.  (Yes, we all know that pregnancy does not automatically mean
weaning, but many mothers think it does, not to mention all the midwives and
docs who have never heard of BF in pregnancy - where I live they are in the
majority.)

I've seen a few primiparous mothers who lost their uteri immediately post
partum due to massive uncontrollable hemorrhage in third stage.  They
underwent hysterectomy as a last resort to prevent them from dying.  They
have without exception brought in full milk supplies, and they know where
they can get help to relactate if they add to their families in future by
adoption.  We have not needed to do anything unusual to get breastfeeding
established.  These mothers were immensely gratified that at least
breastfeeding went NORMALLY.  You would have to really search to find a more
motivated group of women - they thought this was their one and only chance
to breastfeed.  I took it upon myself to let them know that, having
breastfed once, they might find it even more feasible to relactate later.

As others have pointed out, you don't even need to be chromosomally female
to make your mammaries work, though I am not aware of any documented cases
of babies being exclusively breastfed by a man.  Still, breasts are more
like lungs or kidneys than they are like wombs - they are unisex organs that
come in pairs because they are SO IMPORTANT that humans come equipped with a
significant reserve capacity.

Rachel Myr
Not hysterical in Kristiansand, Norway
 

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