How to stop breastfeeding at 1 year. How to stop breastfeeding? Termination of lactation: reviews. Instructions: how to stop breastfeeding in children of different ages

Typically, a child is ready to wean from the breast when all of his baby teeth appear, the sucking reflex practically subsides, and the number of breastfeedings is reduced to 2-4 per day, which usually occurs by 2-3 years. Sometimes breastfeeding has to be stopped due to the mother's illness, or when a new pregnancy occurs. It is desirable that the end of breastfeeding occurs as smoothly as possible and does not coincide in time with other big changes: for example, when the mother goes to work or moves.

When should you stop breastfeeding?

Many pediatricians both in Russia and abroad believe that a child should be fed until he himself refuses mother's milk, which usually happens by the end of the third year of life. WHO recommends breastfeeding until two years of age and continuing further if mother and baby desire. This position is often supported by statistics that children who are breastfed more than average tend to have better health and demonstrate higher intellectual abilities. In favor of long-lasting for the mother, it should also be said that it reduces the risk of breast cancer.

Does milk become useless after a year of feeding?

The opinion that after a year of feeding mother's milk loses its unique properties is incorrect. Numerous studies have shown that in both the second and third years of lactation it continues to contain all the proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, microelements, biologically active substances and much more necessary for the baby, which stimulates the development of the brain and provides the child with everything necessary to preserve health and active growth.

How to determine if your baby is ready to wean

When deciding to wean a child, a mother should be guided not only by his age, but also by his readiness for this.
If the baby attaches to the breast every time he gets ready for a night or daytime sleep or immediately after waking up, wakes up several times during the night to get some breast milk, ends every complementary feeding with breastfeeding, and also cannot calm down without sucking, it means weaning he's not ready for breasts yet. If the mother is tired of endless feedings, then a reasonable limitation of the number of feedings, as well as periodic absences of the mother from home, rather than stopping breastfeeding completely, can help in this situation. The more feedings a baby has during the day, the more stressful it will be for him to abruptly stop feeding.

In addition, stopping breastfeeding does not relieve the adult of the task of teaching the child to calm down easily or fall asleep on his own, and against the backdrop of stress due to the sudden cessation of feeding, it will be more difficult for the child to learn new skills.

Therefore, in order to complete the breastfeeding period as carefully as possible, it is worth waiting until the baby has all his milk teeth, he stops peeing at night and begins to breastfeed only a few times a day.

How to wean your baby

It is good if weaning occurs gradually and with love. You should start by systematizing your applications throughout the day. The introduction of rules and rituals will help. For example, “Mom will breastfeed you after she finishes cooking the soup,” or “You’re already big, let’s not breastfeed on the street anymore.” The main thing to remember is that flexibility and gradualness are important in any learning, and parental authority will not suffer at all if you deviate from the restrictions a couple of times.

When the baby begins to attach to the breast only when lying down and when waking up, you can move on to the next stage. To do this, you need to teach the baby to “finally wake up” without breastfeeding: if the mother has already woken up a long time ago and is preparing breakfast, the baby will be more easily distracted from the desire to suckle than if the mother lies next to him and is desperately trying to “get to sleep” for the last 5 minutes.

The last, most difficult stage is teaching the child to fall asleep without the breast. If you start teaching a child over two years old to fall asleep without latching during the daytime nap, then there is a high probability that the baby will simply stop sleeping during the day, and experts recommend maintaining afternoon rest for at least 5-6 years. Therefore, it is better to start practicing laying down “in an adult way” while preparing for a night’s sleep, and then, when the skill is formed, remove latching from daytime dreams too.

In order for a baby to begin to fall asleep without the breast, sucking should become just one part of the bedtime ritual, and not the only part of it. A bath, a massage, a book, a fairy tale, a lullaby, a tight hug - the ritual of going to bed should be large, then it will be much easier to do without breastfeeding, switching the child’s attention to his other actions. First, you can agree with the child and reduce the sucking time, for example, suck not until you fall asleep completely, but for 1-2 minutes, and then fall asleep in your mother’s arms. After some time, the child will attach only symbolically, and then stop altogether. The last ones to leave are usually the middle of the night feedings. This usually happens when the child's baby teeth come through and he stops waking up at night to go potty.

In what cases should a child not be weaned?

If the child is sick, especially when he suffers from acute intestinal disorders, it is better to wait to stop breastfeeding. You should also not stop it in hot summer weather or immediately after a preventive vaccination. A contraindication for stopping breastfeeding may be the beginning of new stages in a child’s life (potty training, first visit from a nanny, etc.).
Undesirable methods of weaning include separation from the mother and putting something bitter on the breast, as they lead to unnecessary stress for the child and force him to adapt abruptly, rather than gradually, to changes. In addition, abrupt weaning can lead to lactostasis and even mastitis in the mother.

What to do if you need to suddenly stop breastfeeding

In some difficult situations, for example, long-term separation of mother and child, illness of the mother requiring long-term treatment incompatible with breastfeeding, it is necessary to stop lactation. To do this, it is recommended that if you are full, express your breasts until you feel relief (not completely), drink herbs that reduce lactation (for example, sage) to avoid lactostasis and mastitis. Under no circumstances should you tighten your breasts, as this increases the risk of injury to the mammary glands and infection, but does not reduce the amount of milk produced. In any case, it is better to avoid the use of hormonal drugs that suppress lactation (parlodel, bromocriptine), as they have a destructive effect on the mother’s body and can cause complications such as decreased visual acuity, allergic reactions, cramps in the calf muscles; as well as a decrease in blood pressure up to collapse (a drop in pressure that threatens life) and many others.

Hello dear! Our “milk” topics continue, and today we’ll talk not about proper breastfeeding and breastfeeding, but about completing feeding. For many mothers, this becomes a real problem, and it can be difficult both morally and physically. It’s no joke, you can feed a baby for a year, and sometimes even a year and a half, and at the same time experience peace, tranquility and inexplicable tenderness for your child. This is already a whole ritual. And suddenly the time came to give it up. For good. How to stop breastfeeding is a very acute and painful question for a mother. I will try to resolve it today and smooth it out as much as possible.

“Of course” is the ideal option

In some “tandems” called “mother-baby”, the completion of feeding occurs easily and harmoniously. If the baby himself refuses to breastfeed, milk gradually decreases due to a decrease in “demand”. A kind of self-exclusion, which, unfortunately, does not occur so often. As a rule, the mother’s coveted “boob” haunts the baby for a long time.

He had already begun to walk and talk, but no, no, he would unbutton his mother’s robe and cling to her chest. Habit is second nature. But you also need to know honor. Sooner or later we will have to “break up”, so let’s do it right. What if tomorrow you are urgently asked to go to work, or you, pah-pah, get sick with something and go to the hospital. Here we will have to take emergency measures.

"Tasteless" and "bitter"

But first things first. Pediatricians advise weaning the baby from the breast in stages: first stop night feedings, and then daytime feedings. But this is how one-year-old children, who already understand everything, will perceive such an incomprehensible “night” restriction. How will you explain to your baby that “boobs” are inaccessible at night? Does it “sleep”, “hurt”, “becomes tasteless”? It is unlikely that the baby will accept this.

I propose to come up with a beautiful fairy tale, where the main character is your child, and “sisya” is just an “auxiliary element” that at some point ceases to be necessary. As they say, mission accomplished. You can leave your versions of the tale below in the comments. Let's see who comes out more interesting.

Delicious substitutes

Perhaps a distraction during weaning will be some kind of tasty treat (cookies, juice) or a bright rattle toy.

It’s up to your baby to decide what he will react to and be more willing to exchange “boobs” for this. Some male doctors promote such an extreme method as the sudden departure of the mother for several days. They say it often works. But I don’t advise you to shock your child like that, and even a couple of days apart will not be easy for you. We started together, we must finish together. The main thing is to know how to do it correctly.

Isn't it too early

If you decide to wean your baby from the breast at an early age, then you can leave night feedings, but express during the day. Milk can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 30 days in bottles or freezer bags. Just don't forget to write the freezing date. The rest of the time, feed with an adapted mixture.

This method is suitable if there is little milk, and you no longer know what to do with an eternally hungry baby. However, I urge you to fight for breastfeeding with all your might, and give it up only when you have tried everything.

It must be said that about 70% of mothers who decided to stop breastfeeding at an early age still resume feeding after 2-3 weeks. This is the best in the breast, and no formula can replace mother’s milk in its value and nutritional value. Feed while you can, at least until your baby is one year old. Well, then start preparing him for separation from his beloved “sissy”.

Horror stories and other "grandmother's" methods

Some mothers come up with real horror stories so that the baby gets scared and does not want to put “this nasty thing” in his mouth. “The boob has become tasteless and bitter,” the mother scares her little daughter. Tears well up in her eyes. How is it possible that she was like family for so long, she calmed you down, gave you warmth and delicious milk, and now, it turns out, she betrayed you? These are the thoughts that will be in your baby’s head. Don’t even think about doing this, much less smearing your nipples with mustard or pepper, as our inventive grandmothers sometimes did.

I also do not recommend the old method of breast constriction. It is traumatic and dangerous, often leading to mastitis and disfiguring the shape of the breast. Do you really need surgery and “spaniel ears” instead of beautiful breasts? Don't think.

Milk tablets

Nowadays, a variety of tablets are actively used to stop lactation. Of course, they work, but many are not exactly for nursing mothers. Such drugs are created for women whose milk is not released after childbirth, but flows on its own. They have a lot of side effects, so consult your doctor before buying them.

Remember one important thing: if you start taking such pills, you no longer breastfeed your baby! DO NOT throw your body into turmoil. Otherwise, it will turn out that on the one hand you are blocking the release of milk, and on the other hand, the baby provokes its further production.

Gradually and painlessly

I recommend finishing breastfeeding without medications, smoothly and gradually, without stress for yourself and the baby. Gradually pump several times a day, but not completely. Of course, it’s better not to do this with a baby. There should be less and less milk. Don’t be lazy to express, don’t wait for the milk to “burn out.” Otherwise, you risk getting lactostasis, mastitis and other troubles. If there is no stagnation, and everything goes according to plan, you can also use folk remedies to reduce lactation:

Make an alcohol compress and at the same time drink herbal infusions of peppermint and sage.

After some time, lactation will stop. Well, while you are still in the process, I will share with you some “know-how”:

1) Keep your baby occupied and distracted more often. New interesting games, pyramids, cars, dolls. He will be interested and his hungry looks at boobs will become less frequent;

2) Do not sit or lie near the baby so that the breast is constantly within reach. Watching the series with your child is now an option that is temporarily unavailable to you. Go for walks more often, involve your baby in doing household chores so that he sees and thinks about your breasts and delicious milk less often;

3) Be firm in your decision to stop breastfeeding. Your confidence is already half the success. At the same time, you cannot be strict and tough with your baby. On the contrary, try to hug him more often, carry him in your arms, give him more tenderness and warmth;

4) You are strictly prohibited from wearing a neckline during excommunication! Do not provoke the baby, wear closed and not too tight clothes;

5) Pamper your child with treats: cookies, crackers, juice or fruit drink should always be at hand, including on the street. Don’t forget to give him regular clean water; if you stop breastfeeding, there is a risk of dehydration.

Well, now there’s one more nuance. Sometimes it is better to hold off on stopping breastfeeding. For example, in early spring, when immunity is already reduced. Various stressful situations for the child (the first visit to the nursery, “moving” from the parent’s to his own crib, teething, illness) should also not be combined with weaning. Wait for a more favorable time and act according to plan!

Well, I say goodbye to you for today. I hope this was useful to you again. Don't get sick and come visit often!

Weaning is an event that requires time from the child to rebuild the body and switch to a more complex diet than breast milk. Mothers stop breastfeeding for a variety of reasons. To make cessation of lactation as easy as possible, you need to choose a competent “strategy” for cessation. A properly selected method will make the weaning process comfortable for the mother and her baby.

5 steps to ending breastfeeding

The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding your child until he or she is at least one and a half years old. But only the mother will decide when to stop breastfeeding her own child. The calmer and more consciously she approaches giving up feeding, the more favorably the baby will tolerate it.

No rush

The longer the process of curtailing breastfeeding occurs, the easier it will be for the female breast to adapt to this. The breast produces as much milk as the baby sucks it out. Oddly enough, even the human body has the concept of “supply and demand”. Therefore, you should start by removing 1 feeding every 3-4 days. An abrupt cessation of breastfeeding can provoke stagnation and even mastitis, so follow the smoothest course possible to reduce feedings.

Time to adapt

The process of adjusting the baby’s digestive tract to different foods is not easy. The younger the child, the more difficult it is for him to get used to a new diet. It happens that having started abrupt weaning, the mother does not know what to do with the baby - he does not absorb/eat the proposed formula and loses weight. Before starting the weaning process, it is worth making sure that the child is successfully digesting the food that replaced breast milk.

An alternative to breastfeeding is hand expression.

If you no longer have the strength to feed (unpleasant, painful, etc.), but the mother is ready to spend time and effort on carefully folding breastfeeding, then you can resort to using a breast pump for a while. Of course, pumping cannot be called a full-fledged break from feeding, but this method will help you avoid problems with your baby’s digestion (after all, he will continue to drink his mother’s milk), and the breasts, if emptied in a timely manner, will not be in danger of unpleasant mastitis/lactostasis.

GV – remove, contact – leave

When reducing the number of breastfeedings, do not forget that feeding is not only a nutritional process. For an infant, physical contact with his mother is very important. This includes communication, tenderness, and a sense of security, which cannot be deprived along with the cessation of lactation. Hug your baby more often, carry him in your arms, play and walk in the fresh air. In addition, be sure to introduce your baby to new foods and expand complementary feeding.

Drop in hormones

When breastfeeding stops at a rapid pace, a woman experiences a sharp drop in hormone levels. Quite often, with the end of lactation, the mother begins a period of sadness, tearfulness and increased emotionality. If this happens to you, do not despair - within a couple of weeks your mood will return to normal.

Basic weaning methods

Remember, the main principle if you want to complete natural feeding is “do no harm.” Every mother needs to know how to stop breast milk lactation correctly to avoid negative consequences. You can move painlessly to the next stage of feeding your baby only by choosing the key method of interrupting breastfeeding and sticking to it.

Note! A mother should not feel guilty for deciding to stop feeding a child who could still be breastfed. If you are unsure whether to stop breastfeeding due to certain circumstances, talk to a breastfeeding consultant. It is possible that stopping lactation in your case is not at all necessary.

Instructions: how to stop breastfeeding in children of different ages

The end of the lactation period looks completely different in babies up to six months, up to a year and older. Understanding the intricacies of weaning is not easy; they often have an individual nuance, so we tried to characterize each period in general terms. This will help parents have an idea of ​​how to correctly say “stop” to breastfeeding at a specific point in the baby’s growth and development.

From birth to 6 months

Children of this age do not have a conscious attachment to the breast, so it is easier to teach them to feed from a bottle than older babies.

• Set an hourly schedule for when you breastfeed your baby (for example, in the morning after waking up, before bed and at night).
• Find out how much of the adapted formula the child should receive at the current age (daily amount and per dose).
• Replace one of the breastfeedings with formula feeding once every three days;
• Maintain feedings and milk production until you are sure your baby is tolerating the formula you choose.
• The breasts will continue to fill for some time. If hot flashes cause you discomfort, then you can help your body reduce milk production with folk remedies.

From 6 to 18 months

A child of this age already has a more developed digestive system, formula and complementary foods are better absorbed, and abdominal pain practically does not bother the baby.

What to do to wean:

• During this period, the psychological well-being of the child comes first when weaning. It is important that interruption of breastfeeding is not abrupt, but lasts at least 2-3 weeks.
• If you replace the breast with a bottle, the baby may become so accustomed to it that weaning from it may be difficult later. Try to teach your baby to drink from a cup.
• Do the same as in the case of stopping breastfeeding in the first half of the child’s life. Don’t get hung up on formula milk - the older the baby, the less the baby needs.

From 18 months and older

A child of 1.5 years old already eats “adult” food and is even familiar with the common table. But often babies at this age are dependent on the breast and actively protest when weaned.

What to do to wean:

• Remember about the psychological well-being of the baby - it will be better for him if the weaning is gradual, spread out over at least a month.
• Choose which feedings you want to eliminate first: daytime or nighttime. If feedings as such do not bother you, then for the child’s peace of mind, act slowly, asking him to replace one feeding every three days with a variety of snacks.

Suppressing lactation naturally: traditional methods

If breastfeeding is gradually interrupted, the female body begins to stop lactation on its own. If you have 2-3 feedings left per day, and they need to be removed, then you can safely count on your “natural mechanism” - every day your breasts will produce less and less milk. But when you need to get rid of full lactation with 8 or more feedings, you definitely won’t be able to do without special procedures - folk methods will come to the rescue.

Medical cessation of breast milk lactation

Drugs that stop breast lactation are very popular as the easiest way to reduce milk production. But it is worth knowing that drugs that are part of the group of dopaminomimetics (suppressing lactation) have a bad reputation and are banned in many countries. Very often, after studying the instructions for such drugs, nursing mothers decide to complete breastfeeding naturally and are interested in information on how to stop lactation without pills.

In what cases is the use of medications to reduce lactation necessary? There are 4 main situations:

1. Deterioration of mother's health due to breastfeeding– purulent mastitis, lactostasis, elevated temperature, coupled with inflammation in the chest, are often recurrent in nature and can lead to surgical intervention. As prescribed by the doctor, feeding in this case is stopped with the help of selected medications to restore the woman’s health;
2. Serious illnesses during pregnancy(tuberculosis, HIV infection, etc.) can cause weaning immediately after childbirth, and taking medications to curtail lactation;
3. Presence of cancer in the mother is also an indication for stopping breastfeeding with medication if radiation and/or chemotherapy is to be carried out;
4. The birth ended with the death of the newborn - the goal is to suppress milk production, and for this purpose pills are used to lower prolactin and end lactation, which is unnecessary in this situation.

Remember that suppressing lactation with the help of pills is a strong stress for the body. Before resorting to an emergency method, weigh the pros and cons - the triggered mechanism for stopping breastfeeding cannot be reversed. The decision to end breastfeeding in this manner must be made carefully and with good reason.

Important! Pills to stop lactation have many side effects and contraindications that cannot be ignored. If you think you need medication to stop breastfeeding, talk to your gynecologist about this.

After studying the basic methods, we recommend watching a video about the rules for stopping lactation from a breastfeeding consultant:

How to curtail day and night feedings - step-by-step tips

Often these simple methods are enough to reduce the number of breastfeedings by almost half without unnecessary discomfort.

Removing daytime feedings:

• We offer the baby the breast at those moments that are convenient for you - this is an indirect transition from feeding on demand to feeding in certain cases. Record in your mini-schedule the times when you will definitely breastfeed your baby over the next month. The remaining “unscheduled” feedings can be replaced with something else;
• During the day, do not offer the breast to the baby - often the mother herself is no less dependent on feeding, and at any opportunity she offers the breast as a sedative. Do not refuse to feed your child, but only if he asks for it;
• the child often requires breastfeeding only at home - try to “go out” with the baby more, go for walks, visit guests. At the same time, do not forget to take a snack for the baby, and offer to eat before he starts asking for the breast;
• If you are determined not to breastfeed until the evening feeding, keep your word. If your baby cries when you refuse, try to distract him with an interesting activity: drawing, playing, cartooning.

Removing night feedings:

• rule number one - the child should always go to bed at night well-fed;
• if the baby is used to falling asleep with the breast, then when he is half asleep, try to calm and relax him without sucking - stroke his back, sing a lullaby. Sooner or later the baby will be able to fall asleep without the breast;
• When the baby has already learned to fall asleep without the breast, it’s time to try to refuse feedings during night awakenings. After the first awakening, do not breastfeed, try to “rock” with a monotonous song or stroking;
• sometimes sleeping together is the main stumbling block when completing breastfeeding. Try increasing the distance between you and your baby by placing a nursing pillow in the middle or transferring your baby to his crib.

How to end breastfeeding - 7 tips from a star mom (video):

Each mother decides for herself when to stop feeding her baby breast milk. At the same time, she is guided by her own thoughts and feelings, and the child’s well-being. It would be nice to listen to the World Health Organization, which claims that a child must be fed for at least one year (mandatory) and until 2 years or more (preferably). That’s it, no one else has the right to interfere with the mother-child union. No family acquaintances who see that you are still feeding and shake their heads disapprovingly should influence your decision to wean your baby. Or horror stories that, on the contrary, intimidate long-term mothers with sagging breasts. Generally speaking, a long-term mother is one who feeds her child beyond 2 years. So don’t think that, having fed your child up to 1.5 years, you are considered long-term breastfeeding just because “the neighbor’s mother only fed until she was a year old.”

A nursing mother sometimes even has to hide from society, relatives, and kindergarten teachers that she is still breastfeeding her child. But this is more likely not from shame in front of them, but from the immaturity of the environment, and their unwillingness to accept this fact. The matter is much more serious - breastfeeding is not a luxury or a whim. This is what your child needs to grow up healthy and strong!

Have you decided that it’s time to stop breastfeeding?

Here are some tips that might help you. To avoid confusion, you need to be clear about why you want to stop breastfeeding. Conventional wisdom about the need to stop breastfeeding is wrong. Let's sort them out.

Mom goes to work and it's time to stop breastfeeding.

The mother does not yet go to work, but the child is already going to kindergarten, it is generally accepted that it is time to wean the child off breastfeeding.

The mother gets sick and starts taking some medications; the only way to protect the child from the harmful effects of the medications seems to be a decision to get rid of breast milk and quit.

A young mother, under pressure from her family and doctors, decides to stop breastfeeding.

If the child is reluctant to eat complementary foods, the mother decides that it is time to switch to adult food, otherwise breastfeeding interferes with this process and decides to wean the baby.

When should you not wean from breastfeeding?

There are factors under which you should not wean your baby:

• Illness or illness of the child;
• Period of active teething;
• Summer time (children over 1.5 years old can already be weaned in the summer);
• Important changes in the child’s life (starting to attend kindergarten, changing the environment, moving);
• Mom goes to work.

These factors cause stress in the child to one degree or another, so weaning, as an additional stress, must be eliminated until life stabilizes.

That's it, let's wean off breastfeeding! But how?

Let's say you've weighed the pros and cons and decided it's time to wean off. Next, you choose what to do - abruptly stop feeding or gradually. Both methods are successful, but when your child, an essentially defenseless creature, is on the other side of the issue, you should also think about how not to harm him.

There are two main principles for ending breastfeeding - abrupt and smooth.

Abrupt cessation of breastfeeding

With an abrupt end, the mother at one point does not give the baby the breast. It all depends on the child, how he perceives it. He will cry, suffer, cry inconsolably, or he will say “okay” without any problems and happily go eat some soup. There will still be stress. Perhaps the next time the child hits the baby, he wants to attach himself to the breast in order to be comforted, or the child is used to falling asleep with the breast - all these situations will arise, and the child will be stressed. The mother's task is to mitigate the consequences. Find another consolation, distract the child. Or, for example, come up with a special ritual for going to bed - bathing–>massage–>fairy tale–>sleep– this will help the child to better tune in to sleep than just put in a crib–>switch the lights off–> sleep.

There is also a method that is considered the least traumatic for the child - the mother leaves home for a few days and the child is cared for by one of the trusted relatives. A few days later, the mother returns from her “vacation” in a new light for the child. She is no longer a source of milk, but simply a mother. When a child is happy about his mother and wants to eat the milk that he missed so much - the mother says “there is no more milk” - this will not cause much stress in the child, since in these few days he has already learned to do without his mother’s breast. And such weaning will not greatly traumatize the child. If you decide on this method, think carefully that when you leave, you will not be able to be there during these difficult moments for the child. You are depriving him not only of his breast, but also of his beloved mother, who can calm him down. The method is quite controversial.

You can suddenly stop breastfeeding while being close to your baby. He needs your attention, tenderness and warmth. But your actions must also be consistent. If you said “everything”, that means everything. No concessions. The child will cry and swear, but your actions must be confident, and your heart must be loving and understanding. Pay more attention to the child, hug, kiss him, your attention will mean to the child that nothing bad is happening and that his mother is still with him and loves him. Often mothers smear their breasts with brilliant green or iodine or pepper - to demonstrate to the child that “the breast is sick”, that “milk is poop”, etc. Even these seemingly harmless actions can traumatize a child. Only you know your child and only you can assess the harm to his psyche. So here's what you need to think about.

A smooth way to end breastfeeding

What is a smooth way to end breastfeeding? His golden rule is to reduce the number of breastfeedings, gradually replacing them with adult food, with night feedings being the last to go. Why night ones, because it is at night that you want to free yourself from endless awakenings, it is at night that you want to finally get some sleep. The fact is that at night, in response to the act of sucking milk, the mother’s body produces the hormone prolactin. Its production guarantees the formation of milk. If there is no hormone, there will be no milk. If you stop feeding at night, milk will gradually stop being produced by the mammary glands. And this is not our goal.

So, first we remove one daily feeding, then two - we replace it with adult food. In this case, neither mother nor child suffers. Everything happens smoothly. The baby manages to adapt and the mother adapts, producing less and less milk. But this is under ideal conditions. In fact, the implementation of this principle of smoothness becomes difficult and causes slipping if, for example, a child starts teething or gets sick. The child is capricious and again demands more breasts. As a result, the mother is forced not to reduce the number of attachments, but rather to increase. Of course, when only night feedings remain, they are easy to remove.

How to stop breast milk production

But what to do with the breasts when breastfeeding has stopped and milk is no longer needed. And it continues to appear. How to get rid of breast milk? There are several ways to return your breasts to their “pre-pregnancy” state.

1. Pull the sheet tightly around your chest. Walk like this for several days, without eating or drinking.(THIS METHOD IS VERY DANGEROUS FOR HEALTH)
2. Take a drug to stop lactation (Dostinex, bromocriptine, etc.) - the drugs are quite effective, but they should be taken after consultation with a doctor. On average, milk goes away within 1-2 weeks after taking milk. This means that there may be pain in the chest for 1-2 weeks.
3. This method is called the PEOPLE METHOD. It can cause the least harm. Eat less, drink less, especially hot drinks. Take infusions of mint and sage. To avoid lactostasis and mastitis, apply broken cabbage leaves to the engorged breasts. If your breasts become “stony,” you can express milk until relief occurs, a little at a time. If you express a lot of milk at once, then the same amount of new milk will replace the expressed milk and you will feel a rush of milk in your chest. With this method, milk can remain in the breast for a long time and soreness in the mammary glands and a feeling of fullness can be bothersome for a long time. But the breasts stop producing milk gradually, no doubt about it. Trust your feelings and nature, which does its job.

Breastfeeding consultations

Breastfeeding is very fashionable now. This is a useful fashion. Up to 6 months required. Up to a year is preferable. After a year - at the request of mother and baby. But the deadlines are a purely individual matter. Breastfeeding for 1.5 years is not enough for some, but too much for others.

Sooner or later, any nursing mother wonders when and how to stop breastfeeding. You won’t find any kind of advice on the Internet - stop drinking liquids, put mustard on your nipples, take pills and a lot of other things that cause problems of various kinds in the future. We will talk about how to properly wean without stress for mother and child in this article.

Two years is the minimum age until which the World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding be continued. But at the same time, if there is a desire of both mother and child, then you can and should continue to feed until the natural end of breastfeeding. As for weaning, two years is the age when the child is more or less ready.

GW completion process

This procedure is not easy and occurs in stages.

• The first is reducing daily feedings.

First, learn to give love to your child in other ways (after all, breastfeeding is a way of communicating with the mother) - hug, cuddle, kiss, give more tactile contact. At this age, it is easier to distract children by playing, give them fruit or cookies, or maybe just water. By the way, children are least likely to remember latching on the street when they are walking or visiting interesting places - shopping centers, various zoos or children's rooms, which is a good option for spending time especially in such a difficult period of time.

Mom should wear clothes in which it is impossible to reach what she wants, these could be T-shirts or sweaters with a high neck. Do different things so that the baby does not have time to get bored and ask for the breast out of boredom. If the baby is not interested in anything and he still insists on latching, then in this case there is no need to refuse.

• Second - daytime dreams

When the daytime indiscriminate feedings are finished, all that remains is feeding on dreams - daytime and nighttime, as well as during sleep. As a rule, difficulties arise here. First you need to teach yourself to fall asleep during the day on your own. To do this, it is worth including new actions in the ritual of falling asleep, for example, stroking the head or back, singing a song. Constant repetition of these actions will create a sleep association for the baby.

Another option you can use is to lengthen your mother’s absence. It looks like this: the mother puts the baby to bed for the day and, as if remembering an important unfinished task, talks about it, promises to return soon and leaves the room. At first, the absence time can reach no more than 30 seconds, after which the mother returns and puts her to bed in the usual way. Each time the time of absence needs to be increased, and one day she will find the baby sleeping.

There is an important point here; if you told your child that you were going, for example, to wash the dishes, and if he suddenly goes looking for you, he should definitely catch you doing this.

Another additional option for teaching sleep on your own is to ask other family members to put the baby to bed during the day.

By the way, so that the baby does not latch on immediately after waking up, it is necessary that the mother is not in sight. When the baby finds it, you can first try to distract it with something interesting, be very busy with something, or simply apply it not immediately, but after a few minutes.

• Third night sleep

After the baby knows how to fall asleep on his own during the day and goes the whole day without latching on, it’s time to teach him to fall asleep on his own at night. You should proceed in the same way as with daytime styling. In this matter, the main thing is not to rush and be calm, then the child himself will stop latching at night.

• Fourth - duration of sucking

The final stage of the gradual cessation of breastfeeding will be a decrease in the duration of sucking. When the baby has eaten, sleeps and lightly sucks on the breast, then it should be taken away if it does not wake up from this attempt. Soon he will be able to sleep through the night without any pain at all.

If a woman likes to breastfeed, if both mother and baby are comfortable with it, then there is no need to complete breastfeeding at two years. The natural completion of breastfeeding is a physiological and natural process inherent in nature. In addition, this is a healthier option for the woman’s breasts and the baby’s immune and nervous system. But. With longer feeding, the frequency of attachments still decreases and gradually disappears. This is facilitated by the mother’s regular absences, including overnight absences. In long-term feeding, as in everything, it is important to be without fanaticism.

Why is breastfeeding usually completed?

Of course, mothers do not always breastfeed as recommended by WHO. And everyone has their own reason to stop doing it. Let's discuss the most common ones.

The shape of the mammary glands will change

In fact, for this reason, many women often switch to mixed or artificial feeding, thinking that this will help prevent changes. In fact, properly organized breastfeeding does not affect the shape of the mammary glands, due to the fact that all changes occur with the onset of pregnancy. It is then that they increase in size, adipose tissue gradually changes to glandular tissue in order to subsequently produce milk for the newborn. And early termination or weaning leads to the fact that the glandular tissue does not have time to change back to fatty tissue, as a result of which the mammary glands look “saggy”.

“After a year there is nothing useful in breast milk”

Another misconception that is unfounded. Its distributors are often doctors, which causes a storm of anger in me. A baby at 1 year of age is just beginning to actively eat complementary foods, which means that mother’s milk is still a source of nutrients for him. And on top of that, it helps strengthen the immune system.

Pressure from relatives or doctors

This also happens quite often. It is worth remembering that it is time to “wind down,” those who raised their children during Soviet times tell us. At a time when children were sent to nurseries at 2-3 months because they had to work, and therefore were transferred to formula and early complementary feeding. And for them, a longer GW causes such resistance. If your doctor tells you that breastfeeding should be stopped, this is a reason to think about changing your doctor. Because it turns out that the doctor is not aware of the benefits of breastfeeding, and therefore the doctor does not develop as a specialist.

Not enough milk

In the life of a nursing woman, there may be periods of false lack of milk, which are called lactation crises. As a rule, the first time such a period occurs is 3 months. It is at this time that a certain leap in development occurs and the need for nutrition increases. And if there is little milk, the mother simply needs to latch on to the baby more often. This period takes about 2-3 days, after which the mammary glands begin to increase milk production to meet the baby’s needs.

Baby is too attached to mother

The strong attachment of a child to his mother is influenced not by breastfeeding, but by what is happening in the mother’s head. At an early age, strong attachment is absolutely normal, gradually, the child becomes less dependent on his mother, he separates, and his mother supports him in this. This is a long and smooth process. A child, having lost breastfeeding, will demand a lot of attention in order to once again make sure that his mother still loves him and is nearby, and to get the attention he has not received. If the reason for hyper-attachment is the mother’s unresolved issues, then stopping breastfeeding will not solve anything - then you should contact a good psychologist.

Even those babies who were breastfed for a short time or not at all also have such an attachment.

Urgent necessity

Perhaps this is the only reason why you can complete GW and it is very rare. This could be an illness of the mother for which she is in the hospital or a serious illness of the baby. But if you want to continue breastfeeding in the future and maintain lactation, then you can discuss the issue of more gentle treatment with medical workers.

Answers to questions about weaning

At what age is it best to wean?

The age of the child when the mother decides to complete breastfeeding is different for everyone - this happens at 2 months, and 11 months, and at 1.5 years, and sometimes later. It is necessary to understand that early termination, for example, at 4 months, is not physiological. No wonder the WHO says: “For the entire population, exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, followed by breastfeeding with adequate complementary feeding for two or more years, is recommended for infant feeding.”

Will it really be more difficult to wean a child after a year because he understands everything?

This is fundamentally wrong. At 2 years old, the baby is better prepared for this than at the age of ten months, due to the fact that the body and psyche are already more prepared for the completion of breastfeeding.

What if the child weaned himself before the age of one year?

There are cases where children excommunicate themselves at the age of less than a year.

This is breast refusal. It is facilitated by the use of pacifiers, early complementary feeding, a reduction in the number of feedings (not according to age) and the desire to “quit” breastfeeding at night. Changing this behavior is not easy, but it is possible if you consult a specialist.

The opposite option is when the mother goes overboard with the number of attachments and the child rebels. A feeling of refusal is created, although it is false. Here, too, a specialist will help you understand the situation.

What time of year is best to finish feeding? Is it true that you can’t do this in the summer?

To answer this question, I quote from an article by Irina Ryukhova, a lactation consultant with international certification: “It is believed that in the summer it is better not to wean a child from the breast - an increase in the amount of fresh vegetables and fruits in the baby’s diet contributes to gastrointestinal disorders and infections. But if weaning takes place after two years, the time of year no longer plays a big role.”

In view of all of the above, consider whether it is worth stopping breastfeeding ahead of time. If the age is appropriate, at least prepare the child for this process.

In any case, whenever the completion of breastfeeding begins, in order for it to be painless for mother and baby, this must be done gradually.

• If the baby is less than a year old or there is an urgent need, then you cannot do without expressed milk and adapted milk formulas. They will gradually replace breastfeeding. If you feel fullness in your mammary glands, you need to express milk until relief occurs. Attempting to completely empty it will only lead to an increase in its production, which is not necessary in this situation. This sequence of feeding replacements will significantly reduce the likelihood of lactostasis and mastitis and gradually complete breastfeeding.
• If the child is between one and two years old, then you should start with the same actions as when weaning after two years, just as gently and gradually.

What you shouldn't do at any age!

Any forum for mothers is replete with various tips for completing breastfeeding. Therefore, below we will look at those that can cause harm and are definitely not worth using.

• Take pills to stop lactation. This method is very dangerous and has many side effects, such as myocardial infarction, vomiting and nausea, dizziness, depression, psychomotor agitation, stroke and a large number of other things. Plus, the effect of such drugs is temporary or they do not work at all. The pill option exists for very serious isolated cases.
• Tighten the mammary glands. This option is very harsh and harmful. When using it, the amount of milk does not change, blood flow is disrupted and the flow in the mammary glands is blocked, swelling appears, and later more serious problems. Therefore, to avoid mastitis and lactostasis, using this method is strictly prohibited.
• Replacing night feedings with a bottle of water or any other liquid is a direct path to the formation of caries.
• Limiting fluid intake. Reducing the amount of drinking does not help stop lactation. This can only lead to dehydration of your body, and as a bonus, the risk of lactostasis increases.
• Apply something repellent and unpleasant to your nipples, such as green paint or mustard. Such actions can irritate or burn delicate skin, but for the baby this can become a negative association in the future.
• Leave the child or give it to the grandmother for a few days. For the baby, this option will be a huge stress when not only the beloved breast suddenly disappears, but also the mother. Of course, after a few days he really won’t want to kiss, but after that there is every chance of getting a “tail” that will follow him around for fear that his mother might disappear again.

When a woman says “I want to stop breastfeeding,” it is important that her desire and actions do not occur at a time when the child is sick, teething, or goes to kindergarten. Against this background, stopping breastfeeding will be ineffective and will bring additional stress.

Let's summarize. It is impossible to quickly and safely complete lactation. This is a natural process that takes some time. It is better to approach any process consciously, friends.