For many women who use the surrogate to get their baby, the breastfeeding is a very important part to know that they haven’t given the birth to the baby- can they still breastfeed a baby?
Yes, it is possible nowadays that a woman who didn’t give the birth to a baby can breastfeed their baby born through surrogacy procedure. It will take some time and dedication also there are hormones, medications, and supplements which can allow the intended mother to breastfeed a baby born through surrogacy procedure.
Months before the pregnancy the fertility expert will prescribe the hormones medications to the intended mother which will be a birth controlling pills that help to trick the intended mother’s body and pretend that she is pregnant in order to stimulate the production of the breast milk. Once the baby born, your fertility expert will give the supplements and medication to the intended mother to promote that product.
In case, the intended mother is able to trick her body into making the breast milk, it’s likely that she is not able to produce enough milk to sustain the baby. In such cases, many women use a supplemental nursing system like surrogate’s milk or pumped milk. This allows the intended mother to have the benefits of breastfeeding, even if only for some of the time as for many women it is big for which breastfeeding is extremely important.
How to induce lactation?
There are three different medications which induce the lactation and these are:
- Domperidone: A drug for stomach problems.
- Progesterone Contraceptive Pill: This drug can be used in conjunction with domperidone to speed up the lactation process.
- Metoclopramide: It is an anti-sickness drug and has a side-effect of activating the prolactin hormone. It has some nasty side-effects and can cause depression so it is not the preferred choice given by the fertility expert to take this medicine.
How to stimulate the nipples?
Some mother can do it after taking the medications or some can do it naturally. Your fertility expert will advise you to take an electric breast pump during the surrogate’s pregnancy and stimulate your nipples with it, several times daily. This method will help you in releasing the hormone, oxytocin, which is the love hormone. It is released during sex to trigger orgasm, during pregnancy to start labor and regulate contractions and reflex in which milk to flows down from the mammary glands.
This procedure will help you at the time when your baby is born and at that time you will be able to breastfeed them, at least partially. In some cases, women choose to wait until after the baby birth and then they stimulate their nipples by putting their baby to their breast, but this process might not produce a good supply of the milk and the women need to use formula or donated breast milk initially until they start to lactate.
Food and Herbs
In case a woman does not want to take the medication then she can try the herbal remedies or foods that have been shown to induce lactation. According to study, the coconut milk is the best food to have a good breast milk inducer and woman can also take the herbal teas which have been traditionally used to encourage lactation after surrogacy.
What is the Newman-Goldfarb protocol? How Does it Help?
With the help of a full, detailed table, you can go through the table and understand the details about Newman – Goldfarb protocol.
Newman-Goldfarb Protocol:
The Science of Breastfeeding Without Pregnancy
A complete plain-language guide — what it is, how it works phase by phase, and why thousands of intended mothers around the world trust it.
The world’s most trusted induced lactation method
Developed by Dr. Jack Newman — one of the world’s foremost breastfeeding experts — and lactation educator Lenore Goldfarb, this protocol gives intended mothers in surrogacy arrangements a structured, medically supervised way to produce breast milk and breastfeed their baby, even though they did not carry the pregnancy.
Think of it like this: during a normal pregnancy, a woman’s body is slowly flooded with estrogen and progesterone for nine months — and then those hormones crash the moment the baby is born. That crash is what signals the brain to say “start making milk now.” The Newman-Goldfarb protocol simply recreates this hormonal drama using medication. Your body does not know you were not pregnant. It just responds to the signals it receives — and it starts making milk.— The core biological logic, in plain terms
This protocol has been used successfully not just by surrogacy mothers, but also by adoptive parents, transgender women, and same-sex female couples — anyone who wants to breastfeed a baby they did not birth. It has a track record spanning decades and is recommended by lactation consultants worldwide.
How does it work? The three phases explained
The protocol moves through three clear stages. Each builds on the last. Think of it as a relay — not a sprint.
Phase 1 — The “Fake Pregnancy” Phase
You take a combination birth control pill every day. This quietly floods your body with estrogen and progesterone — the exact hormones that rise through a real pregnancy. Over months, your breast tissue is being primed and prepared for milk production, exactly as it would be in a natural pregnancy. Nothing dramatic happens. It is slow, invisible preparation.
- The longer this phase runs, the better your likely milk supply — 6 months is ideal, 3 months is the minimum
- No pumping required during this phase — your only job is to take the pill consistently every day
- A doctor must prescribe this — do not attempt to self-prescribe hormone therapy
- Women who have never been pregnant or breastfed can absolutely do this phase — prior experience is not required
- Coordinate the start date with your surrogate’s conception timeline so you finish this phase at the right time
Phase 2 — The “Birth Trigger” and Pumping Phase
You stop taking the birth control pill. This sudden hormone drop mimics what happens in the body the moment a baby is born. Your brain reads this crash as a signal: “the pregnancy is over — start making milk.” At the same time, you begin taking a galactagogue (a milk-stimulating medication) and start using a hospital-grade breast pump every few hours.
- Domperidone is the preferred galactagogue outside the US — it raises prolactin with fewer neurological side effects than alternatives
- Metoclopramide is used where domperidone is unavailable — effective but can cause fatigue and mood changes in some women
- Pump both breasts for 15–20 minutes per session, at least 8 times a day — including once between 1am and 5am when prolactin is highest
- Night pumping is not optional if you want a meaningful supply — prolactin surges naturally in the early morning hours
- You may see drops of colostrum appear in the final weeks before the birth — this is a very encouraging sign
- Missing pumping sessions significantly reduces your supply — consistency matters more than intensity
- Use a hospital-grade double electric pump — consumer pumps are often not powerful enough for supply building
Phase 3 — Baby Arrives, Real Breastfeeding Begins
Your baby is born and you put them to the breast. This is the most powerful phase. A baby’s suckling is far more effective than any pump at stimulating milk production — it sends a direct hormonal signal to your brain. Most intended mothers use a Supplemental Nursing System (SNS) at this stage: a device with a tiny tube taped alongside the nipple that delivers donor milk or formula simultaneously, so the baby gets enough nutrition and keeps stimulating your supply at the same time.
- Skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth is one of the most powerful supply stimulants — ask your hospital team to support this
- The SNS device lets your baby breastfeed and receive complete nutrition even if your supply is low — it keeps the relationship going
- Continue your galactagogue medication as directed — your doctor will advise when and how to taper off
- Most intended mothers will not produce a full supply — this is expected and does not mean the protocol has failed
- Work with an IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) who has surrogacy-specific experience from this point forward
- Research confirms emotional benefits — bonding, oxytocin release, and maternal satisfaction — are just as strong regardless of milk volume produced
Two versions of the protocol
Goldfarb designed two variations depending on how much time you have before your surrogate’s due date.
Standard protocol
Begin 6 months before the expected due date. The longer hormonal preparation phase gives your breast tissue the most thorough priming possible. Best chance of a meaningful milk supply.
Accelerated protocol
For women with 3 months or less to prepare. Uses the same principles but compresses the timeline, sometimes with adjusted medication dosing to compensate.
The real benefits — beyond just milk
The Newman-Goldfarb protocol is not only about nutrition. Many of its most important benefits are emotional, hormonal, and relational.
Deep mother-baby bonding through oxytocin
Every nursing session — even with low milk — floods both mother and baby with oxytocin, the bonding hormone. For an intended mother who watched someone else carry her child for nine months, this physical closeness is often described as profoundly healing.
Real immune protection for your baby
Milk produced through induced lactation contains the same IgA antibodies and immune factors as milk from a birth mother. Your baby receives genuine immune protection — colostrum, if it appears, is especially rich in these.
Works without any pregnancy history
Women who have never been pregnant, never breastfed, and even post-menopausal women have used this protocol successfully. The breast tissue responds to hormonal signals regardless of past reproductive experience.
Flexible and personalised to your timeline
Your doctor adjusts medication doses, timing, and duration based on your health, your available preparation window, and your breastfeeding history. There is no single rigid version — it adapts to your situation.
Emotional satisfaction is independent of volume
Clinical research — including the NIH-published study PMC10309413 — confirms that mothers who produced very little milk reported the same level of satisfaction and bonding as those with higher supply. Partial breastfeeding is still deeply meaningful.
Decades of documented global use
This protocol is used across Canada, India, Australia, the UK, and many other countries. It has a well-documented track record among adoptive mothers, surrogacy families, transgender parents, and same-sex female couples.
The plain-language takeaway
The Newman-Goldfarb protocol works by tricking your body into thinking it was pregnant, then triggering it to produce milk. It takes months of real commitment — daily medication, frequent pumping, and specialist support. Most women will not produce a full supply, and that is completely expected. Even partial breastfeeding gives your baby real antibodies, gives you real bonding hormones, and gives both of you something formula alone cannot offer: the physical closeness of nursing your own child. That alone is worth the effort.
Devender Gill is an experienced medical blogger & writer on the healthcare researcher with a strong focus on numerous treatments based on the official info from clinics aross network. He Specializes in creating accurate, easy-to-understand medical content covering, medical topics, for instance, IVF, Surrogacy, IUI, ICSI, and other essential ones.
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