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She's part of an "adult breastfeeding relationship."
By Merethe Najjar — Written on Oct 27, 2021
Breastfeeding is the most natural way to feed a child and has gone on for as long as mammals have existed.
Parents often tout the wonders and connection that breastfeeding brings between mother and child — a special bond they share that gives them personal time to connect with each other and gives the baby antibodies to protect them against illness.
Women have often been vilified for extending their children's breastfeeding time until they are nearly in the double digits of age, but for some people, that time is simply not enough.
Jennifer Mulford of Atlanta, GA, is one such person.
"When I read about the pure joy it brought others, I was desperate to seek out a partner to share an emotional bond with."
In 2016, she become part of an ABR — that is, an "Adult Breastfeeding Relationship," and she quit her job as a bartender to stay at home full-time to breastfeed her adult male partner.
"When I read about the bond breastfeeding could create between two people, I was envious," she said. "I have always enjoyed my breasts being touched during sex more than anything else, so I knew I would enjoy it."
Adult breastfeeding or "erotic lactation" may seem like a new phenomenon, but it's anything but.
As far back as the Renaissance period, people have been practicing this, prescribing mother's milk to aged, frail men in order to get the health benefits of vitamins and nutrients they believed only breastfeeding would provide.
The result? A bunch of sexually frustrated scholarly old men finding young, nubile wet nurses to drink from.
Today, ABR forums highlight this interest and show that it's alive and well.
Though, due to its taboo nature, many people hide their breastfeeding relationships altogether.
Others, like Jennifer Mulford, celebrate and promote the act.
Mulford at first took to the Internet in order to state her desire to bond through breastfeeding, but after joining ABR forums and advertising on Craigslist, no one responded and she began to get disheartened.
"I started to think I’d never get to try adult breastfeeding," she said.
In discussing her situation with a close ex-boyfriend, Brad Leeson, the two decided to try the breastfeeding relationship for themselves.
"We both wanted the same thing out of the relationship — a magical bond that only breastfeeding can achieve," said Mulford.
Though breastfeeding seems like a fairly passive act, the truth is that it requires a lot of work to begin pumping milk, especially since Mulford gave birth to her child nearly 20 years prior.
It requires the same schedule she would need for an infant, which means breastfeeding her partner every two hours to help her milk come in.
This is why she "took a break" from her job as a bartender, and plans to stay at home and nurse Leeson full-time.
The deed may even necessitate the use of herbs and vitamins to encourage the milk flow, and will need to be continued for the length of the relationship in order to keep production up. She has altered her diet to include supplements and natural foods to encourage her body.
Leeson, a self-described "gym buff," was excited to see the possible health benefits of drinking breast milk with his workouts.
He has expressed happiness at feeling that he's living a healthy lifestyle with the ABR alongside his workout routine.
"It's a bond that no one can come between," Mulford said. They keep their schedule up with pumping and feeding, even at night. She hopes that her milk will come within two months of dedicated work.
They plan to get married in the future, but don't plan on having any children together.
While it takes a lot of effort to maintain a breastfeeding relationship, it’s clear that thus far, both Mulford and Leeson are happy with the results and plan to continue for as long as they can.
Merethe Najjar is a professional writer, editor, and fiction author living in Atlanta, GA. You can also find her on her website, MeretheWalther.com, or follow her on Twitter and Facebook.