Breast feeding off a corpse...

[The Din]

Sorry for the morbid subject matter, but I was just wondering if a babe can still suckle if the mother died during childbirth, thus allowing time to find a new midwife/agreeable goat. The scene takes place out in the woods so it will be a while before a suitable donor can be found for the little fella.

Thanks in advance for any shared wisdom.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

If it is within a very limited time after her death (like say a matter of hours, before rigor sets in), then yes. However, the supply of colostrum - the "pre-milk" that is a new born's first milk, will quickly run out and not be replaced. Goat, or indeed any type of animal dairy will not be a perfect nutritional substitute for any extended period of time, and if you make it so that that is the child's only food source be prepared to deal with malnutrition issues with your character as he grows.

 

[ALB2012]

EWWWWW! sorry just had to say that. Now I think the question asked is - mother dies in woods in childbirth how does the baby get to the boobies? Unless she is not alone then the baby is sort of just lying there.

I think the previous poster is correct if the mother had just died and wasn't alone you might get one feed but beyond that unlikely. It would be better to find a suitable substitute, a wetnurse or even milk from a goat, at least for a short time. The chances are the babe would die of exposure or get taken by predators anyway.

Man I am doom and gloom this morning.

I guess if you want a scene, have the mother dying and she had over the baby?

 

[Grimmlore]

yes its possible for a small amount of time, and feeding goats milk the babies natural instinct is suckling so it would need to be put through a teat of some sort or material dipped in a bucket of milk till soaked. the other option is a wet nurse. In many of our cultures women in a group will feed others babies, it is possible to have a woman develop milk without having her own child if the baby is put to her breast for a while, not straight away or over night. something about the baby stimulating the glands that produce milk when trying to suckle it can take a few weeks. hope that helps

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

Actually I don't think it is. At least not much and not for long. Rigor is one problem but there's another more immediate one. In order to breast feed a mother's breast muscles have to be stimulated to let down the milk through the production of hormones, specifically oxytocin. I don't think dead bodies produce hormones in responce to stimuli, which would mean that no amount of suckling on a corpse would produce milk. The breasts might leak for a bit I suppose.

More than that though I think you'd have to ask a coroner.

Cheers, Greg.