Read more: Evacuating with a baby? Here's what to put in your emergency kit. Almost any mother who wants to start breastfeeding again can. There are only a small number of health conditions that make breastfeeding inadvisable for medical reasons. When you stop breastfeeding, a protein in the milk signals your breasts to stop making milk.
This decrease in milk production usually takes weeks. If there is still some milk in your breasts, you can start rebuilding your supply by removing milk from your breasts as often as you can.
You can do this by breastfeeding, if your baby is still willing, or by expressing milk by hand or with a breast pump. To start, you will need to stimulate your nipples frequently by encouraging your baby to suck at your breasts or by using a breast pump.
This triggers the release of a hormone called prolactin that develops the milk-making structures in your breast to start producing milk. Once milk secretion begins, removing the milk from the breast signals your breasts to make more milk. Read more: No, there's no evidence cookies can help with lactation. If your baby is willing to suckle, this is the easiest way to relactate. Understanding how the process works will help ensure it goes smoothly for you.
Breast milk is made according to a "supply and demand" system. This means that you will want to express your breast milk as little as possible. If you were previously feeding your baby or pumping, decreasing feedings or pumping sessions slowly will cause you the least pain. If you were not expressing breast milk, avoid pumping for comfort and any nipple stimulation which includes sexual stimulation.
Resist the temptation to squeeze your nipples to see if you're still making breast milk. Stimulating your breasts or nipples while you're drying up could lead to the continued production of a small amount of breast milk, which prolongs the process.
If you must face the showerhead, try using a towel draped over your breasts. Some foods known as lactogenic foods can make your body produce more breast milk. If you're trying to dry up your breast milk supply, avoid eating lactogenic foods such as oats, flax, and brewers yeast. You may experience some discomfort during the weaning process. Here are some tips to minimize pain associated with drying up your milk supply:. If you try to stop making breast milk too abruptly, it can put you at higher risk for an infection called mastitis.
Contact your doctor right away if you have any symptoms of a breast infection, including:. These symptoms can indicate you have a breast infection. While slow weaning will help prevent infection, if one does develop, you need prompt treatment. Drying up your milk is a process that can take time. Whether you have breastfed before or not, patience, medication, and a few tricks can help you reduce your milk supply with less pain. It will also help prevent breast infections like mastitis.
Never hesitate to reach out to a medical professional, like your doctor or an IBCLC, if you have questions or concerns about weaning. Asking for help will be especially important if you need to temporarily decrease your milk supply medical reason, such as taking a medication that needs to clear your breastmilk, or if your baby needs to stop feeding to have a medical test.
Get it free when you sign up for our newsletter. Lactation Suppression. Australian Breastfeeding Association. Colostrum: General. La Leche International. World Health Organization. Effect of progestin compared with combined oral contraceptive pills on lactation: A randomized controlled trial. Obstet Gynecol. Pseudoephedrine: Effects on milk production in women and estimation of infant exposure via breastmilk.
Br J Clin Pharmacol. Bromocriptine Parlodel. School of Medicine and Public Health. University of Wisconsin-Madison. Lawrence RA, Huttel E. Academic Press. No More Milk Tea. Earth Mama Organics. Department of Health. However, you can expect to see some initial results within about 2 weeks of trying. Have faith that breastfeeding is a hearty, flexible, fluid process, and if you previously breastfed, it may be easier than you think to get things rolling again.
Any stimulation of the breast — whether milk is coming out at first or not — will tell your body to produce more milk. If you keep nursing or pumping, you should start to see increases within a week or so. A little patience goes a long way here. In addition to nursing or pumping, you may want to consider adding a galactagogue to the mix. A galactagogue is any food, herb, or prescription medication that is thought to help boost your milk supply.
You might consider drinking teas made with some of these herbs. Speak with your healthcare provider about what herbs are safe for you to try, and about the potential risks of any supplements you are considering. Your doctor may also be open to prescribing medication that increases milk supply. Many people find that they need to bring in their milk supply before they can get their baby interested in breastfeeding again. Patience is of the essence here.
Pumped milk in a bottle is beneficial too. Your baby may only breastfeed at certain times of day, like for naps and bedtime, and that can be fine as well. Remember that you get to define your success here. A good way of slowing milk production gradually is to pump or hand express just enough milk at regular intervals to avoid discomfort.
In this way milk production will slowly decrease. It also makes it more comfortable to hold, carry and cuddle your baby if you need to distract him from nursing. The younger your baby is, the more care you will need to take to reduce your milk slowly and gradually. Aim to produce a comfortable fullness in your breasts by expressing less often than your baby was nursing. This fullness will then help slow your milk production.
You might need to express at night too to start with. As well as cutting out a whole expressing session every two or three days, you can also reduce the time at each session. Expressing less milk each time will also help limit how much milk you produce. Hand express or gently pump enough milk to make your breasts comfortable.
Make sure you drain milk from each part of the breast. Use an ice pack large enough to cover most of the breast, wrapped in a lightweight towel to protect your skin. Leave it in place for minutes.
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