I have not read the article from Birth Issues spoken of, however, the
idea that the expectation of a full milk supply will make it so has come
up many times.  I have talked to many women who fully believed that they
would have a full milk supply, or at least a large milk supply.  Only
one, which I mentioned earlier, has actually done so.  Everyone else has
been disappointed.  Some of these have given up and felt like failures
when,actually, they were providing their adopted babies with wonderful
benefits of being nurtured at the breast, usually with some amount of
breastmilk.

I will have to get this article and see what it says specifically.  But
I'd be willing to bet that, if the women were indeed producing huge
amounts of milk, there was more going on than just the expectation of a
full supply (hyperprolactinemia, etc.).

I am currently conducting a survey of adoptive nursing mothers.  I have
tried to set it up to make mothers who have produced little or no milk
feel comfortable sharing their experience too.  I know how intimidating
it can be for someone who has never been able to give birth to divulge
the fact that they were not successful at producing milk either.  I
believe that has led to literature that suggests a greater likelihood of
large milk production than actually exists.

From the results of my survey, so far, as well as contact with many
other adoptive mothers over the years and my experience nursing my own
six children,  I believe the only thing safe to say about milk
production in adoptive mothers is that it is impossible to predict what
any woman's experience will be.  There is variation even between the
same mother's experience with different adopted babies.  It is, however,
also safe to say that any mother who understands the multiple benefits
of nursing her adopted baby can have a wonderful, rewarding experience!
Aloha,
Darillyn Starr