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From: flowers@ucla-cs.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.kids
Subject: Re: Adoption Advice Wanted
Message-ID: <9916@ucla-cs.ARPA>
Date: Mon, 17-Mar-86 18:26:08 EST
Article-I.D.: ucla-cs.9916
Posted: Mon Mar 17 18:26:08 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 19-Mar-86 05:35:12 EST
References: <557@mhuxr.UUCP> <52@gilbbs.UUCP>
Reply-To: flowers@ucla-cs.UUCP (Margot Flowers)
Organization: UCLA Computer Science Department
Lines: 24

> My wife and I are going through adoption procedure with the New Jersey
> Division on Youth and Family Services. This will (eventually) be our first
> child. Stories from adopters and adoptees, books to read, and any
> other information that will help us be ready for this child
> will be ggreatly appreciated.

Think about breast feeding.  Seriously.  Adoptive mothers can breast
feed, and the health benefits to both mother and baby can be life long
(i.e.  fewer allergies in adulthood for the baby, lower rates of breast
cancer in women who breast feed for a long enough period of time, etc.),
not to mention all the usual benefits of convenience, etc. The key word
is "relactation" (I think that is a mis-nomer but that is what La Leche
calls it).  I don't have any personal experience with this, but my
childbirth instructor has been involved in helping adoptive mothers
breastfeed, and there are several success stories in the La Leche book
"The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding".  La Leche's techniques are
"demand-based", but I have also heard of adoptive mothers getting
hormone injections to help establish lactation.  Look into it (contact
La Leche League or others) and plan ahead because it does take some
preparation.

Did you know that there is a group in Africa where the fathers nurse
their young?  (I've heard that from a few sources, one including
childbirth class, but I can't give any specific sources so don't ask).