Top Tips to Follow to Stop Producing Breast Milk

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Although breast milk is still the healthiest source of food for newborns, there will come a time that a mother will have to opt to stop producing it. The baby's age (especially if the child is already well over six months), planning to have another child, going back to work, or health issues, especially problems after giving a c-section or a cesarean birth, are just some of the most common reasons statistics show women have to stop breastfeeding and start weaning.

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Although, the decision to introduce your child to other food can be easy, getting the job done might prove to be way harder. As your decision alone will not stop you from producing breast milk, you will have to learn how to do it yourself.

To do that, here are some useful tips that may be of some use to you:

1. Nurse less. Of course, you can't just abruptly stop breastfeeding, especially if you've been exclusively nursing for the past few months, as this will be extremely harmful to your baby. What you should do, though, is to nurse less so your body will get used to the less consumption of milk, which will eventually teach it that producing a lot isn't necessary anymore.

2. Start giving your child formula milk. As this milk substitute is way heavier than breast milk, your child will need to breastfeed less, helping you teach your body to produce less milk. However, your child may find formula weird at first, since it wouldn't have the exact same taste as the milk you produce, but in time, he will surely learn to appreciate it.

3. Pump less often. As you can't just stop breastfeeding right away (as this will lead to more problems with feeding your kid rather than do something helpful), make sure you still give him breast milk. However, nursing him a lot will not work in favor of slowing down the production of your milk, so you will have to do the feeding by bottle. Generally, you will still need to pump, but you have to keep in mind that you have to do it less frequently to teach your body that your child does not need as much breast milk as you've once used to produce when you're still exclusively nursing.

When trying to wean and produce less milk, though, you will surely experience some pain. This will be cause by the unconsumed milk that will still be inside your breasts, which might sometime lead to engorgement. In case this happens, take some pain meds or use ice packs some time before the schedule of your breastfeeding. This will help alleviate the pain.

But always keep in mind that you must, at all cost, stick to your weaning plan, and do not nurse frequently just to take off your breast pains. This will not help in slowing down the milk production and it will just prolong your agony.

Stories, pictures, and blog entries attest that it is possible to stop producing breast milk; all you need to do is to stick with the plan and not give in on the temptations of pain relief and soothing your child's cries. Remember, weaning can be a difficult phase for you and your child, but you will need to get through this sooner or later. So, be firm and consistent on your decision to stop breastfeeding.

Top Tips to Follow to Stop Producing Breast Milk
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