To: Elizabeth Peyton, re the oophorectomized mother who wants to nurse--
The late Niles Newton, MD (mother of Ed Newton you quoted) reported in I
think the 1950's on a woman in rural Mississippi I believe in her 60's, who
nursed her grandchild after her daughter (the baby's mother) died.  I believe
there have been other similar cases reported in Africa. I haven't seen these
references, only references to them. I will try to look up at least where I
read about this. I agree, I think all it takes is a breast, a baby, and a
pituitary. The hormones involved are all pituitary, as long as there has been
a history of estrogen priming. Of course it helps to have your brain and your
cultural experience on your side. The cases being from rural Mississippi and
Africa may perhaps suggest that these women may have retained older cultural
wisdom, and were able to disregard, or be unaware of, modern thoughts about
what they couldn't do, that might have kept them from trying.
I'll try to find that reference.
Tina Smillie, MD peds (I was also at the LLLI/AAP conference