Schuetz

With approximately 93% of women resuming intercourse 4 months after giving birth and the increase in new mom's breastfeeding it is only natural that couples ask questions regarding breasts and breast play during lovemaking and research has shown that a number of women ask questions like 'Can I Breastfeed My Husband'

There are 2 areas of concern with respect to this and this article will address them both.

If this is your first child that you have breastfed then one of the first concerns may be that your partner may take milk (or colostrum) away from your new baby and thus leave them going hungry. There is no need for concern over this as other moms who have breastfed will be able to tell you. You will produce the amount of milk required, on a kind of supply and demand basis.

What may be practical is for you to commence your lovemaking activity a short time after breastfeeding your child for a very good reason. You will probably now be aware that breastfed children feed more frequently than formula fed babies, as natural milk is digested more quickly than formula and so this should give you and your partner more of that special time together without your child wanting to be fed. This will also help alleviate your worries about the amount of milk you produce for the first few times together.

The hormone that is released during orgasm, oxytocin, also causes your milk to eject and therefore milk can spray or leak during lovemaking. By feeding your child prior to lovemaking you can lessen this effect substantially.

The next concerns that you should have with respect to breastfeeding your husband or partner are for the safety of your child. Generally lactating breast play will be safe for you, your baby and partner or husband except in a few special circumstances which I cover below.

The first of these circumstances is if any of the 3 of you has an active yeast infection. If this is the case then it will need to be treated prior to initiating breast contact. Babies commonly develop a yeast infection in their mouths called thrush and this can be passed to the mothers' breasts during breastfeeding. This can cause a lot of pain for mom during breastfeeding or breast pumping and normally causes cracked, sore nipples but may cause persistent nipple pain.

Yeast infections are extremely common and are very easily spread often manifesting themselves as oral thrush or diaper rash in your child, vaginal infection or breast infection in mom or athletes foot in any family member or groin itch in the father. Thrush is the most common affecting the mucous membranes of the body.

Yeast infections are unfortunately quite difficult to eradicate completely, as they can survive on a lot of surfaces such as breast pump equipment, bathroom surfaces and on toweling products. Once any infections are clear then breast contact by your partner can resume safely.

The second of these circumstances that is worth noting due to it being common is having an active herpes infection, whether that is type 1 or type 2 as there can be a lot of crossover between the two types. Type 1 is associated with cold sores and type 2 causes genital herpes. Herpes can be transmitted through close human contact, especially contact involving the mucous surfaces, like kissing or intercourse. There have been cases of infants with cold sores passing the infection to the mothers' breast through breastfeeding.

If your partner or husband has cold sores or lesions on his mouth then oral contact with your breasts should be avoided until they have completely disappeared. Herpes can cause serious infections in newborns because their immune systems are still developing. Wash your hands frequently and carefully, because herpes can be spread from hand to mouth.

Obviously during lovemaking or any intimate physical contact there is the potential to share disease and if you have other less common medical conditions you should consult your physician for real medical advice. The conditions above I have specifically mentioned as they are likely to affect a large percentage of the population.

However, these circumstances and less common disease aside there are no reasons why you and your husband shouldn't enjoy, if you so wish, the added dimension to your lovemaking that your lactating breasts can bring.