Breastfeeding EXPERT QUESTION: How to end breastfeeding correctly?

Question: I want to stop breastfeeding, but I'm afraid because it's my first child. What is the best way to do it? The child is 1 year 1 month old, I breastfeed 4-5 times during the day and 2-3 times at night when he wakes up.

Answers Ksenia Solovey, head of the National Movement to Support Breastfeeding ‘Milk Rivers of Ukraine’, a UNICEF partner in the programme to support breastfeeding in crisis situations:

Good afternoon, Maria! Breastfeeding for a year and a little longer is already a solid feeding experience, you have something to be proud of! In your question, I read the word ‘quit’. I understand it as a one-time, quick, abrupt action. In the case of breastfeeding, I'm guessing that you want to stop feeding quickly.

However, it is very important to take your time so that the process of ending breastfeeding is gentle for both the baby and your body.

From your description, we can guess that milk production is in full swing thanks to breastfeeding 6-8 times a day, which means that your body is actively producing quite a lot of milk. Your lactation can be compared to a steam locomotive that is running at full throttle from city to city, and you cannot stop it abruptly without consequences. Without consequences for your health. A sudden cessation of breastfeeding most often leads to breast engorgement, fever and, as a result, lactostasis or mastitis.

Therefore, you need to act gradually, first by reducing breastfeeding by 1-2 (leaving 6 breastfeeds), allowing milk production to decrease, the body to adapt (so that there is no pain in the breast, heaviness), usually it takes 3-4 weeks. Only after that, remove the remaining 1-2 feedings again (4 breastfeeds will remain). So gradually remove all feedings.

The benefits of a gradual reduction in lactation for the child's health:

• Not all feedings are taken away from the child's usual life under the breast, but 1-2 (this is important!). This allows the child to gradually adapt to the changes while still being a baby. The breast is a very important object for a child, a place of calm, relaxation, comfort and love
• The mother stays close to the child, does not leave the baby, does not take him/her to grandparents (grandfather, girlfriend, aunt, etc.). In this way, the child avoids the stress of separation from the most important and precious person in his or her life - the mother.
• Even if a child cries when his or her mother refuses to breastfeed, it is easier for the child to cope with this in the arms of his or her mother, together with her. A mother is a child's hope and support, a person who helps them go through the difficult lessons of life together.
• Breast milk after one year also has a protective effect on the child's health - milk protects against bacteria, diseases, even helminths! There are benefits of breastfeeding after a year even if the baby is breastfed 1-2 times a day!

What not to do during the end of lactation:

• You do not need to take hormonal drugs to stop lactation. A child at this age latch on to the breast not only to get milk, but more for communication, calming, and falling asleep. And even if there is no milk in the breast, he will still ask for it. Therefore, ‘magic’ pills will not help. Completing breastfeeding is a process that you need to go through together with your baby.
• You do not need to cover your breasts with elastic bandages; this procedure does not reduce milk production, but puts the breast under an unbearable strain with negative consequences.
• You should not shame a child who asks for the breast or cries for the breast (‘you're big now’, ‘only tiny children ask for the boob’, ‘shame on you’, etc.). All family members should help the child through this stage of breastfeeding completion by providing all possible support and reassurance.

Let breastfeeding your baby bring you only positive emotions! Have an easy completion!

As part of the Help for Children programme, the Rinat Akhmetov Humanitarian Centre in cooperation with UNICEF provides information support to mothers affected by the conflict in Donbass. You can ask an online question to a breastfeeding consultant here.