How to stop lactation naturally? Lactation stopping

In the life of each lactating woman, there comes a time when, for whatever reason, she wants to complete breastfeeding. The question of how to properly stop lactation, becomes relevant and very exciting for any mom. This is a very complex psychological moment for both women and children, so it deserves due attention. About how to stop lactation naturally, will be written in this article.

Deadlines for completing breastfeeding

The duration of breastfeeding is not an arbitrary decision of the mother, but certain physiological criteria that follow each other and are intertwined. In other words, the duration of breastfeeding should be determined by the child's natural needs, which eventually fade away, giving way to new ones.

It is generally accepted that breastfeeding should last at least six months, and then it is permitted to replace it with a milky mixture and the introduction of new products. Six months is too short a period for stopping lactation, as the sucking reflex in a child fades only to two years, and in some children to three. All this suggests that the natural feeding should last at least two years.

Reasons for stopping breastfeeding

There are many reasons why a nursing woman wants to stop breastfeeding, for example:

• The child's age is more than two years.
• The need to go to work.
• New pregnancy.
• Tired of breastfeeding.
• Disease of the mother, requiring medical treatment, incompatible with lactation.

There may be thousands more reasons that push the woman to this crucial step, but she must be aware that stopping lactation is depriving the baby of breast milk forever. Therefore, if Mom feels doubts and uncertainties, then it is better to postpone this moment to a later date.

Fundamental rules

In order not to harm either yourself or your child, you need to know how to stop lactation naturally by doing the right thing. There are several basic rules for stopping breastfeeding. Observing them, the woman painlessly passes to a new stage of feeding the child.

If the age of the baby is more than one year old, and he already eats adult food, the best option will be a gradual replacement of breast-feeding with the intake of another liquid. You can offer your baby's juices, compotes, baby teas or plain water. In a situation where the baby refuses to accept anything other than his mother's breast, you should give him a bottle with a mixture.

After replacing all daily feedings with another fluid intake, night feeding remains. In a few weeks, you can wean your child off from night attachments, replacing the breast with a nipple or bottle.

Such a gradual decrease in lactation will save the child from psychological trauma, and mom - from mastitis and other problems with the mammary glands.

Products that reduce lactation

Another way that answers the question of how to stop lactation naturally is to eat foods that help to reduce the production of human milk. The most popular are sage, tea with mint, infusions of cranberries and parsley. Some advise eating more smoked and canned foods, but they will be harmful to the child receiving them with breast milk. Maybe they can reduce lactation, but they should not be used even by a non-breastfeeding woman.

Having decided to take various infusions of herbs, follow certain rules. For example, asking yourself how to stop lactation with sage, you should take the cooked broth little by little. This is done in order not to harm the child. After drinking a few sips in the morning from sage, Mummy should closely monitor the reaction of the baby: did not he have an allergy, did his condition change or if other symptoms unusual for him did not arise.

Traditional methods of stopping lactation

Previously, women stopped feeding the baby, following the advice of their moms and grandmothers, since the medicine did not pay much attention to breastfeeding. Therefore, nursing mothers, in order to reduce the amount of milk, consumed less liquid, or instead of the usual drink, they drank infusions of herbs that reduce lactation.

The most common way, which has survived to our time, is a tug of war. It is believed that the transmitted breast does not receive milk, and thus stops lactation. However, breastfeeding consultants do not advise using this option due to the occurrence of frequent mastitis and inflammation of the mammary glands.

Some mothers just give their grandmother a week for a week and do not show up to him all this time. This method is not correct and does not answer the question of how to stop lactation naturally, since it negatively affects the child's psyche.

Medications

If you urgently need to stop breastfeeding (for example, due to the state of the mother's health), and there is no time for gradual weaning, then you can resort to medications. Today, pharmacy chains offer many drugs to stop milk production. However, only a doctor should prescribe a tablet to stop lactation. The price for them can be high, but it is better to buy a better product. It is important to remember that the medical cessation of lactation has contraindications and side effects.

Consequences of stopping lactation

If a nursing woman decided before the deadline for breastfeeding to stop lactation, then she should know the consequences of her decision.

For women, a sudden cessation of breastfeeding can result in mastitis. Sometimes in neglected cases, doctors resort to surgical intervention.

Another unpleasant consequence may be depression in the mother. It occurs because of a sharp change in the hormonal background. Often, women say that after weaning they felt that the child seemed to have been taken away. This is due to the fact that the body reacts to the cessation of milk production and application of the child as to its loss. In this regard, there is a massive release of the stress hormone, and the woman falls into a deep depression. For two or three months it can be accompanied by tearfulness and anguish.

For a child, untimely weaning from the breast also carries a number of negative consequences. This can be a psychological trauma, as well as a defective development of the immune and digestive systems.

Helpful Tips

Which option is better to choose and how to stop lactation of milk with the least consequences for mom and child? First of all, one must approach with confidence and inner calmness to this process. When the mother is calm and consistent in her actions, the child feels it. Conversely, the baby will always feel Mom's anxiety and answer the same.

A woman should dress in tightly fitting clothes without deep cuts in the chest area, so that the child was difficult to get to it.

Of course, it is much easier to take smaller children from the breast, replacing it with a bottle. Even if at first the child refuses from it, then when he gets hungry, he eats the mixture. Children older than a year can already explain what they want, and they will seek mother's breast in all possible ways. Therefore, with every attempt of the child to get to the desired mother should explain to him that the milk is over, and offer a bottle.

Excommunication is advised to be carried out during the involution period. It comes when the child turns 1.5-2 years old. Recognition of involution can be based on such symptoms as irritability of a woman during feeding, sudden fatigue if the woman has not fed for a long time, and a small amount of milk.

If we wean the child for two to three months, the milk will decrease gradually, there will be no compaction of the mammary glands, the hormonal background will gradually change, and the mother and baby will easily transfer this important period in the life of both.