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Subject:
From:
Lisa Marasco IBCLC <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 9 Apr 1999 09:56:47 -0700
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Okay, Cindy, I dug it out just for you ;-)

"Father's Milk" by Jared Diamond, in Discover Magazine, Feb. 1995.

The quote: "Breast development occurs commonly, and spontaneous lactation
occasionally, in men under conditions of starvation. Thousands of cases were
recorded among prisoners of war released from concentration camps after
WWII; one observer noted 500 cases among survivors of one Japanese POW camp
alone. The most likely explanation is that starvation inhibits not only the
glands that produce hormones, but also the liver, which destroys those
hormones. The glands recover much faster than the liver when normal
nutiriton is resumed, so hormone levels soar unchecked.
     Evidently, then, evolution just didn't design us men to utilize our
potential to lactate, even though we have the necessary anatomic equipment,
physiological potential, and hormone receptors. The question is, why not?"

It's a fascinating article.

Lisa Marasco, BA, IBCLC

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