Hi Jodine,
The literature is absolutely chock a block full of accounts of
post-menopausal women who have relactated.  In some cases it was accidental
eg Slome's (J of Pediatrics 1956) grandmothers who were comforting
grandchildren at the breast when they were baby sitting (not all
post-menopausal but some were). In other cases it was deliberate as
grandmothers (or even great grandmothers) breastfed the babies of their
deceased daughters/grand daughters. You can check out Sigerist 1940 Bulletin
of the History of Medicine 8:1403. I love this paper, it quotes some old
reports eg  from 1640 "There was a woman who had nine children, the last of
whom was married and had children, I mean to say that this woman was very
old, more than 60 years; yet one of her daughters happening to die, and
leaving a child in her arms, this good old woman too the child and offered
it her withered breast. The child, by pulling at it, caused the milk to
return so that the grandmother nourished it for more than a year."
 There is no evidence that anything "extra" is needed for pos-menopausal
relactation.
I discussed what might happen within the structure of the breast through
menopause, post and then as relactation occurs with Jean Cotterman some time
ago but we didn't come up with anything definitive. One day I would love to
follow a post-menopausal mum through the process of relactation with MRI and
get some answers.
Karleen Gribble
Australia


> The other day someone on one of the brain tumour lists asked if induced
> lactation would be possible in a post-menopausal woman. The question was
out
> of curiosity, not of need. I was able to pass on some anecdotes, but it
got
> me wondering...
>
> Are there hormonal changes due to menopause that would reduce the
likelihood
> of induced lactation?

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