A clinical case of induced lactation in a biological mother in perimenopause in a surrogacy program of art

According to Rosstat, the number of breastfed children is rapidly decreasing year by year. The reserve for increasing the percentage of women practicing breastfeeding lies, first of all, in broadly informing patients about the simplicity and benefits of lactation, as well as in support from medical staff and family. The procedure of surrogate motherhood is becoming more and more widespread in our country. Induction of lactation, that is, the establishment of lactation in a woman who did not bear or give birth to a child, can not only serve as a reserve for the spread of breastfeeding culture, but also significantly contribute to the psychological rapprochement of a biological mother with her child. In this article, we present a clinical case of successful lactation induction in a perimenopausal biological mother. A 52-year-old patient who entered the surrogacy program as a biological mother showed clinical and laboratory signs of perimenopause. Despite the coronavirus infection with significant lung damage, the patient showed a high motivation to induce breastfeeding and was disciplined in pumping. Medical intervention (metoclopramide) and mechanical pumping of breast milk led to established lactation by the time the child was born by a surrogate mother, which made it possible to attach the newborn to the breast in the obstetric ward and begin successful breastfeeding with good weight gain in the first months of life.

To date, unfortunately, there is no information on the conduct of studies of induced lactation in a significant sample of patients, in addition, there are no clearly regulated guidelines for medical induction of lactation. The presented clinical case can stimulate the interest of the scientific community to this problem. Induction of lactation should be offered to every biological mother in the absence of contraindications for breastfeeding, which will allow establishing a close psychological connection between the newborn and the biological mother and increasing the percentage of children breastfed in our country.