# Can men lactate? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 25, 2005, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-men-lactate/296142 "2005-03-25T03:06:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DaveRaver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daveraver/32/1078_2.png) [@DaveRaver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveRaver)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-men-lactate/296142/1 "2005-03-25T03:06:14Z")
My health teacher told the class that men can give milk in emergencies (presumably if there’s no female present). What’s the straight dope on male lactation? Is it physically possible? ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-men-lactate/296142/2 "2005-03-25T03:43:42Z")
[The Master Speaketh](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_321.html) [Indiana University says no](http://amos.indiana.edu/library/scripts/malelactation.html) ---
**Author:** ![jsmith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df705f/32.png) [@jsmith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsmith)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-men-lactate/296142/3 "2005-03-25T03:46:53Z")
It is physically possible. Male breast growth is called gynecomastia, a quick google search will turn up all the pictures and information you could ever want to know. Albeit rare it is possible for men to lactate. I don’t know about the emergencies thing though. From what I have studied gynecomastia is caused by a chemical imbalance. ---
**Author:** ![inkleberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f17d59/32.png) [@inkleberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/inkleberry)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-men-lactate/296142/4 "2005-03-25T06:28:13Z")
> [@DaveRaver](#): > > My health teacher told the class that men can give milk in emergencies (presumably if there’s no female present). What’s the straight dope on male lactation? Is it physically possible? If given the drug domperidone, yes, yes they can, and often do. But usually this is an unwanted side effect (in men). Can they spontaneously cough up Daddy milk, say if Mommy gets stuck in traffic? No. Could a man make milk on his own if he did a lot of intense pumping and stimulating over a period of time? Maybe. He has the glands, he just needs the correct hormones turned on. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-men-lactate/296142/5 "2005-03-25T06:44:50Z")
To be a bit more precise, _gynecomastia_ refers only to enlargement of a man’s breasts. When it occurs, it reflects an excess of estrogens (female hormones) relative to androgens (male hormones). _Lactation_, on the other hand, occurs as a result of excessive levels of the hormone prolactin. By and large, though, for a breast to produce milk as a result of being stimulated by prolactin, it is required to _also_ have been stimulated by estrogen. This is why very few men with prolactin-secretiing tumors experience lactation, whereas it is a common manifestation of such tumors in women. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-men-lactate/296142/6 "2005-03-25T06:50:36Z")
**inkleberry** : I would like a cite for your statement that men who use domperidone (Motilium) “often” lactate. IMO, it is exceptionally rare and I wonder, in fact, if it’s ever happened. As mentioned, even when a man has a tumor which produces huge quantities of the milk-producing hormone prolactin (orders of magnitude more than would occur from the use of demperidone), lactation is unusual. ---
**Author:** ![inkleberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f17d59/32.png) [@inkleberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/inkleberry)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-men-lactate/296142/7 "2005-03-25T07:43:55Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > **inkleberry** : I would like a cite for your statement that men who use domperidone (Motilium) “often” lactate. IMO, it is exceptionally rare and I wonder, in fact, if it’s ever happened. As mentioned, even when a man has a tumor which produces huge quantities of the milk-producing hormone prolactin (orders of magnitude more than would occur from the use of demperidone), lactation is unusual. It’s an oft-cited side effect in the literature. [here.](http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/uspdi/500149.html) A lactation consultant discusses the issue [here](http://www.asklenore.info/breastfeeding/induced_lactation/protocols_intro.html) . Innappropriate breast milk production is called galactorrhea- and usually is the result of a tumor called a prolactinoma. However, it can also can [be caused by medications, including domperidone and it’s close friend, Reglan.](http://http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/p/prolactinoma/medic.htm) [Here](http://216.239.63.104/search?q=cache:g5BTefcrJhgJ:https://www.saintlukeshealthsystem.org/slhs/com/meded/nov2000ll.pdf+domperidone+men&hl=en) , St. Luke’s hospital briefly addresses it in a newsletter. While rare in men, it does indeed happen. Domperidone is mentioned by name. [Here](http://www.chclibrary.org/micromed/00048840.html) is medical information on galactorrhea in men and women- and it even mentions men getting milk from sexual stimulation. :eek: Those crazy nipples! And finally, I saved the best for last. [Here,](http://www.endotext.org/neuroendo/neuroendo6/neuroendo6.htm) an endocrinology text site dicusses the entire man-milk issue, mentioning domperidone by name even. A selected quote: " In male patients with hyperprolactinemia, there is usually no gynecomastia, but milk may be expressed from an entirely normal-sized male breast. The incidence of galactorrhea in men with hyperprolactinemia is low, however, being less than 30% (i.e. it is much less common than in women). " Good night. And moooooooooooooooooooooooooo. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-men-lactate/296142/8 "2005-03-25T08:00:59Z")
> [@inkleberry](#): > > It’s an oft-cited side effect in the literature. > [here.](http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/uspdi/500149.html) > A lactation consultant discusses the issue [here](http://www.asklenore.info/breastfeeding/induced_lactation/protocols_intro.html) . > > Innappropriate breast milk production is called galactorrhea- and usually is the result of a tumor called a prolactinoma. However, it can also can [be caused by medications, including domperidone and it’s close friend, Reglan.](http://http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/p/prolactinoma/medic.htm) > [Here](http://216.239.63.104/search?q=cache:g5BTefcrJhgJ:https://www.saintlukeshealthsystem.org/slhs/com/meded/nov2000ll.pdf+domperidone+men&hl=en) , St. Luke’s hospital briefly addresses it in a newsletter. While rare in men, it does indeed happen. Domperidone is mentioned by name. > > [Here](http://www.chclibrary.org/micromed/00048840.html) is medical information on galactorrhea in men and women- and it even mentions men getting milk from sexual stimulation. :eek: Those crazy nipples! > And finally, I saved the best for last. [Here,](http://www.endotext.org/neuroendo/neuroendo6/neuroendo6.htm) an endocrinology text site dicusses the entire man-milk issue, mentioning domperidone by name even. A selected quote: > " In male patients with hyperprolactinemia, there is usually no gynecomastia, but milk may be expressed from an entirely normal-sized male breast. The incidence of galactorrhea in men with hyperprolactinemia is low, however, being less than 30% (i.e. it is much less common than in women). " > > Good night. And moooooooooooooooooooooooooo. Did you read the contents of those sites? Or just look for the word “men”. Most of what you link to refers to women. One site that does mention it agrees with me when it says “galactorrhea is rare in men”. And the Thormer article is about hyperprolactinemia in general and _not_ about domperidone-induced galactorrhea. So, I ask again: Please provide a site for your assertion that “(men), if given the drug domperidone, yes, yes they can, and often do (have lactation)”. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2005, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-men-lactate/296142/9 "2005-03-25T08:11:41Z")
I just did a search using PubMed. I found _one_ case of domperidone-induced galactorrhea in a male, and that was in an infant (in other words, his breasts were primed for lactation because of his high estrogen level secondary to his mother’s pregnancy, a heavily estrogenized, state). I stand by my contention that it’s rare, and it is most definitely not “often” a result of domperidone use as you stated.