Kim Kardashian Can Breastfeed Baby Girl Born to Surrogate

After Kim Kardashian and husband Kanye West welcomed their third child via surrogate on Monday, many were wondering if the reality star would be able to breastfeed her own child.

According to Baby Center, it is actually quite common for mothers to breastfeed children welcomed via surrogate or adoption. All it takes is patience and dedication, along with sufficient breast stimulation as even a mother who has never been pregnant can still produce breast milk.

Molly Petersen, a certified lactation counselor at the breastfeeding product company Lansinoh, told the Daily Mail that women like Kardashian can produce breast milk through “induced lactation.”

“Some moms can establish their supply without the use of any medical intervention. Simply putting baby to the breast can induce lactation,” Petersen said.

It isn’t a new concept either as families in the late 19th and 20th centuries hired “wet nurses,” women who were actively lactating from recent pregnancies and were able to breastfeed their children. The production of breast milk is a result of a multifaceted interaction of three hormones: estrogen, progesterone and human placental lactogen.

Petersen tells the Daily Mail that the hormones estrogen and progesterone increase during pregnancy and play a large part in readying a woman’s body for breastfeeding, adding that without them, it can be difficult for a mother to supply milk.

The lactation counselor says if Kardashian has difficulty producing milk, she would have to rely on a successful replication of this process. To achieve this goal, doctors would subsequently prescribe the reality star with hormone therapy, such as supplemental estrogen and progesterone, along with herbs and medications that trick the body into thinking it is pregnant.

This hormone therapy could last up to six months, and should cease roughly eight weeks before a woman is expected to start breastfeeding. At this point, it is advised then to start using a breast pump, as it encourages production and the release of prolactin.

For mothers in a similar situation like Kardashian, doctors recommend women continue pumping after they feed their surrogate or adoptive baby to establish successful breast milk supply.

And while some mothers who welcome children via surrogate might be able produce a significant amount of breast milk over time, one of the greatest benefits in breastfeeding for many is the bonding experience of nursing their babies. The Journal of Perinatal Health reports that women can experience lactation for nearly two years after birth, ideal for Kardashian who gave birth to Saint in 2015 and might easily induce lactation without any medication.

The 37-year-old reality star now has three children with rapper Kanye West, North 4, and Saint, 2.

Photo credit: Donato Sardella / Getty