Stopping lactation at home: effective remedies, simple and safe ways

Mother's milk is the best product created by nature itself to feed the baby. It is especially important in the first months of a child’s life. However, the child is gradually growing and its needs are constantly changing. And in the end there comes a moment when mom makes a decision to stop lactation.

How difficult and painful will this process be? A variety of factors have an impact on this. These are the reasons why the decision was made to stop breastfeeding, the temperament of the baby, and the correct organization of the excommunication process.

Natural factors

The cessation of lactation at home is sometimes a natural process. If this is predetermined by nature, then in the mother’s breast, milk ceases to be produced gradually. This happens when the following factors occur:

1. The child has reached the age of two and a half years. This is the period when dramatic changes in the composition of breast milk occur. In it, biologically active substances and immunoglobulin begin to predominate. The amount of these elements in the mother product is quite large. That is why one application of the baby to the chest can provide the child with 60 doses of immunoglobulin, which contributes to the formation of immunity. The practical significance of human milk is changing in connection with this. For an adult child, it no longer serves as food, but as a kind of vaccine against various ailments.
2. Extinction of a sucking reflex in a baby. This happens in connection with the maturation of his nervous system. And this moment comes when the baby reaches the age of 3 years. Moms who have decided to stop lactation at home before this period extend the time allotted for the maturation of the nervous system of their child. Indeed, in the composition of breast milk are neurostimulating elements. They contribute to the formation of the nervous system.
3. Unwillingness of the child. The fact is that breastfeeding for an adult mother is not a whim at all. This is the natural physiological need of a small person. Over time, it is gradually lost. And this is as normal as the transition from crawling to walking on legs. If a woman continues to feed the baby until this period, then the question of stopping lactation at home does not even arise before her. Her milk disappears by itself gradually due to the fact that the baby is less and less asking for breasts.
4. The absence of one hundred percent filling of the mammary glands. The completion of lactation in a natural way is possible only in cases where the breast does not become rude, if a woman rarely puts her crumbs on it. The intervals between feedings can be from 12 to 24 hours, and at the same time, mom should not have any discomfort.
5. Separate dream. Judging by the reviews, the cessation of lactation at home is impossible without the use of pedagogical methods. After two years, the baby must be taught to sleep separately from their parents. To do this, you will need to carry out some kind of bed ritual. It can be, for example, reading books or a song. In addition, if the baby asked for breasts at night, then he should be fed, and then put back to bed. Over time, the frequency of such requests will begin to decrease. At the same time, the child will sleep completely until morning.

A woman should keep in mind that stopping lactation at home is a pretty serious decision.

Even if the baby is already 2 years old, applying to the chest for him is not only a habit. This is food and intimacy with mom, from which he enjoys. That is why a woman needs to be patient and wean the baby from the chest gradually.

Other causes of cessation of lactation

Sometimes it is not possible to wait for the natural involution of the mammary gland. The decision to stop lactation can be caused by the following reasons:

• for medical reasons for the child or woman immediately after birth;
• in connection with the failure of the baby, who for various reasons does not take the breast and switches to "adult" food;
• emotional or physiological fatigue of a woman who urgently needs a quiet sleep and wants to rest more.

In each of these cases, it should be borne in mind that, according to WHO recommendations, it is advisable to continue feeding the child until he reaches the age of two. If for a number of reasons there is a need for its termination, then it is worth trying to nevertheless prolong lactation until the period when the baby is 1.5 years old.

Necessary period

When deciding to stop lactation at home, how many days will it take for the onset of involution? Milk ceases to be produced in women for forty days. This period must be counted from the last application of the crumbs to the chest. With the resumption of active sucking, lactation may return. This will happen even if a month has passed since the last feeding. Forty days are necessary for certain changes in the structure of the breast to occur, which will make milk production impossible. In it, the glandular tissue will be replaced by adipose. In this case, the breast after the cessation of lactation will go into the state that was characteristic of her before the pregnancy of the woman.

After childbirth

Sometimes there is a need for a quick cessation of lactation. It can occur immediately after birth if the mother or child has been diagnosed with a disease. A woman needs to alleviate her condition even if the baby was born dead or a miscarriage occurred in the late pregnancy. And here also the question of stopping lactation arises. According to women, the most effective in this case is to use medication and folk remedies.

Already in the first days, colostrum will start to stand out from the chest. On the third or fifth day, he will be replaced by full-fledged milk. If it is not removed from the chest, then redness and soreness, fever may occur. With proper care, this condition will occur within a few days. However, for a complete extinction of milk production, a longer period is required. With the cessation of lactation at home, how long does it take? About 2-3 weeks. The tactics of the woman should be coordinated with the doctor. Only a specialist, based on the individual characteristics of the body, will be able to recommend the most gentle and effective way.

If a decision is made to stop lactation, how should a woman behave properly?

1. Wear a tight bra around the clock. However, it should be borne in mind that he should fix the chest well, but not compress it.
2. Apply cool compresses. To stop lactation at home, it is recommended to wrap ice in a towel or use cold bandages. They are placed on the mammary glands to eliminate a burning sensation and soreness.
3. Prevent chest fullness. Sometimes milk comes in a lot. In this case, it must be expressed. However, this needs to be done only a little, only to eliminate its excess. After some time, milk production will decrease naturally.
4. Take painkillers. Normalize the condition of women are capable of drugs based on "Paracetamol" or "Ibuprofen." The last of them additionally produces an anti-inflammatory effect.
5. If persistent seals form, consult a doctor immediately. A similar phenomenon indicates stagnation of milk. Having found dense lumps in the chest, the areas at their location should be gently massaged. With the preservation of the pathological condition, deterioration in well-being and an increase in body temperature, the use of medication will be required. After all, such symptoms indicate the development of lactostasis.

Tips Komarovsky

In the case when the grown up baby is active, and breastfeeding takes away too much strength from the mother, she can also begin the process of stopping lactation. However, the famous pediatrician Komarovsky recommends doing this only when the baby is 1.5 years old. Until this time, milk will continue to play a very large role in the development of the baby's body.

What recommendations does the termination of lactation at home Komarovsky give? A well-known pediatrician warns women that starting this process will not be easy. An already grown child is unlikely to just want to part with a delicious mother's breast. He will demand her, scream and throw tantrums. In this regard, a serious stressful situation will arise, which not every mother can withstand. At such moments, some women give a weak spot and allow their child to suck a little breast. Komarovsky argues that after that the whole process will need to be started anew. After all, with irritation of the receptors on the nipple, lactation cannot be stopped. Moms who want to excommunicate their baby from the breast will need to be patient and understand that without their milk the baby can already live quite normally.

Evgeny Komarovsky believes that the best way to stop lactation is to separate the mother and child for 5-7 days. This period will be enough for the baby to learn how to do without a chest. Of course, once again having seen mother after separation, the baby will again strive for lost pleasure. However, these attempts must be resolutely suppressed. Most often, children are dissatisfied with such actions. However, a woman should not change her mind. Otherwise, this process will drag on not only for months, but also for years, causing moral suffering to her and all members of the household.

If this method is impossible for one reason or another, Komarovsky advises to spoil the taste of milk. For this, the pediatrician recommends that the woman smear mustard on the nipple or eat garlic. Having received a breast with similar products, the next time the child will definitely think whether to ask her again or to get along with a bottle with a pacifier. However, it should be borne in mind that this method does not always work. Some babies are not at all confused by the pungent smell coming from their mother’s breasts, and they even like garlic milk.

Best time

To complete the period of breastfeeding, according to Komarovsky, it is possible both in the summer and in the winter. The season does not matter for this. Most importantly, the child should be ready for such changes. There are several situations in which you should take a while to make a decision about weaning. Among them:

• baby's disease;
• teething, causing discomfort to the baby;
• change of the usual environment for the child.

Without haste

The longer the process of stopping breastfeeding lasts, the easier the woman’s breasts can adapt to this process, because the mother’s body produces as much milk as the baby sucks. That is why it is recommended to remove one breastfeeding for 3-4 days. This method is safe for mom, because a sharp excommunication of the baby can provoke stagnation of milk, and sometimes mastitis. That is why a woman is recommended to strive for the most smooth excommunication of the child from the breast.

Adaptation Time

Having ceased to eat mother’s milk, the baby will switch to another food. But it takes some time for his digestive tract to adapt to new food. Moreover, the younger the child, the more difficult it is for him to do. Sometimes, with a sharp weaning, the infant refuses the food offered to him and begins to lose weight. That is why, before starting the process of stopping lactation, a woman is recommended to make sure that her baby will successfully master the food that she will receive instead of mother’s milk.

Manual pumping

If a mother is ready to spend time gradually weaning her offspring from her breast, but at the same time she does not want to breastfeed her (painful, unpleasant, etc.), it is worth resorting to a breast pump.

Expressing the breast and feeding the baby with a natural product from a bottle will help the baby avoid digestion problems. A woman, timely emptying the mammary gland, avoids the risk of lactostasis, as well as mastitis.

Need contacts

A decrease in the number of breastfeeding should not be accompanied by the elimination of the baby's physical contact with her mother. For a child, this is very important. After all, tactile sensations are tenderness and communication, as well as a sense of security.

A woman should hug more often with her baby. You need to carry it on your hands, walk with it in the fresh air. It is also necessary to familiarize the baby with new products and constantly expand the range of complementary foods.

The main ways to stop lactation

The main principle at the end of natural feeding is “do no harm”. In order to avoid negative consequences, a woman will need to choose for herself one of the main ways to stop lactation and adhere to it:

1. Natural. This is a step-by-step method, which is used after a six-month-old baby. During this period, the baby begins to take extra food, and breast sucking is pushed to the background. Gradually feeding is exhausting itself. This process lasts for several months.
2. Gradual. He is considered one of the most effective for stopping hepatitis B. When using it, mother should gradually reduce the number of breastfeeding. In this case, milk ceases to be produced without any stress. What are the deadlines for stopping lactation with a gradual method? They are not defined, since they do not have a specific framework.
3. Cutting. This method is quite tough and unpleasant. Most often, its implementation is possible when taking special medications. The entire period of excommunication with the use of a sharp method lasts 1-3 days. But resorting to its use is recommended only in the most extreme cases.
4. Partial. With this method, crumbs need to give the milk mixture from the bottle throughout the day and only occasionally apply the baby to the chest. This situation sometimes lasts from 6 to 8 weeks. During this period, breast milk will begin to decrease and lactation will stop.

The use of folk remedies

With a gradual interruption of breastfeeding, the woman's body begins to stop lactation itself. In this case, the natural mechanism will make it possible to produce less and less milk every day. However, with complete lactation and a desire to accelerate the process of transition of the child to "adult" food, you will need to use some maximally effective means to stop lactation. And here, the methods recommended by traditional medicine will come to the aid of the woman. Let's consider some of them in more detail.

Camphor oil

Folk medicine men recommend this natural product to stop lactation.

Camphor oil is used to reduce milk production due to its complex effect, which consists in the following:

1. The sharp specific smell of the product repels the child. That is why when applying a small amount of oil on the chest, the baby loses interest in it.
2. The drug warms the tissues, distracting from the painful sensations arising in the chest due to overflow of the mammary glands.

Camphor oil is an excellent way to stop lactation when it is used in a compress while dragging the chest. Such a procedure creates conditions that allow milk to “burn out”.

Sage

The intake of various potions from this plant has a direct effect on the hormonal background of a nursing woman due to the presence of a large number of phytoestrogens in its composition. These elements are plant hormones that reduce the production of prolactin. The result of this effect is the suspension of milk production.

How to take sage to stop lactation? To do this, from a healing plant, you need to prepare an infusion or broth, make tea or make a compress using its essential oil.

How to drink sage to stop lactation? It is recommended that folk healers take it several times a day, in a course lasting for several weeks, but not more than 3 months.

But the use of compresses with sage essential oil is a kind of "first aid" to complete breastfeeding. In this case, the woman succeeds in reducing milk production in 3-4 days.

Brewed from sage tea to stop lactation is a mild action. , . 5 , 200 . , 15 . . ? 0,5 . 1-2 .

When taking a decoction of sage, a woman gets rid of a feeling of overcrowding in the mammary gland, and also prevents the formation of seals in it. A similar remedy, like tea, is recommended for the process of gradual completion of feeding. To prepare it, you will need 7 g of sage leaves and 250 ml of water. How is such a drug prepared? Water is boiled in a water bath, after which vegetable raw materials are poured into it, which is then cooked under a lid over low heat for 10 minutes. After that, the container with the broth is covered with a towel and left for 2 hours. Next, the drug is filtered using a strainer. How to take sage to stop lactation in the form of a decoction? It should be used 4 times a day for 1 tablespoon before meals.