Probably five years ago, I decided to try a tens unit on the breast to see what happened.  This was just a brief experiment, as I had no one who needed milk then, and did not have a lot of time to devote to it, but I thought it was interesting.  This was at least a year after I had weaned my last child, and I had not been able to express even a droplet for several months.  I positioned the patches around my breast, about an inch from my areola, and turned it on fairly low.  After about ten minutes, I tried to express and got some real thick, sticky, white drops.  Joanna wanted to taste it and said it was real salty.  I did this a few more times, and soon got to where I was expressing a few drops, which were thinner than the first one.  I then went several days without using the tens.  I could still express the drops for a couple days, then just droplets, then nothing.  I repeated the experiment a few days later, and the results were the same except that I didn't get the real thick, salty drops at first, not surprisingly.

I would love to see someone who is trying to induce lactation for an adopted baby try this, along with pumping, to see what happens.  I tried a little pumping, with my experiment, but didn't see anything, but I have never been able to pump worth a darn, so that really doesn't mean anything.  I don't know if it would be better to use the tens before or during pumping or, if during, if it would be best to put the patches right around where the pump horns 

I would think that, like everything else that we try with induced lactation, the results would vary greatly, from mother to mother, but that this type of breast stimulation might make a big difference for some women.  I would like to see something else that might provide another alternative to the extensive use of medication that has become so popular, with a serious lack of concern for the effects, except for the ounces of milk that can be pumped.  

Aloha,
Darillyn

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