How to painlessly stop feeding your baby breast milk: advice from a mammologist, conspiracy. What to do with your breasts when you stop breastfeeding, how to properly bandage your breasts? Medicines, tablets and folk remedies

When is it better to stop breastfeeding your baby: signs

There is no consensus even among experts regarding the issue of feeding duration. Here opinions are divided into 3 sides:

• Some pediatricians do not consider it necessary to feed a child after one year.
• Other pediatric doctors believe that the child needs to get stronger and the period should be extended to one and a half years.
• Radical-minded doctors are of the opinion that if a child wants his mother’s milk both after a year and after two, then he cannot be denied it.

But doctors are unanimous on one thing - you can’t stop the feeding process for up to six months. And if the mother can give him this, then the child should not be weaned from the breast under any circumstances.

But even up to one and a half years, mother’s milk is very useful for the child, because it retains its protective and anti-infective properties. With prolonged consumption of mother's milk, the baby's brain develops better, and food is digested faster.

And this process is extremely useful for a woman. After all, firstly, he maintains physical and psychological unity with the baby. And, secondly, feeding is a reducing factor in the development of breast cancer.

Signs that a baby should not be weaned are:

• Attachment of the baby to the breast at the request of the day during naps and at night
• The baby's desire to be nourished with mother's milk even after complementary feeding
• Restless behavior, especially before bed, baby searching for the breast

If you still decide to wean your baby, then you should do it gradually. Under no circumstances should you suddenly stop feeding. To begin with, switch to two or one feeding. And it’s best if this period falls during the appearance of baby teeth.

If the baby’s diet already includes complementary foods, then weaning from the mother’s breast is usually easier. It is important to understand what the mother wants to get when weaning her baby:

• If she is driven by the desire to get to work, then, given that she will be at home in the evening hours, you need to wean the baby off morning feeding.
• If a mother needs evening free hours, then this is when she needs to stop feeding the baby.
• If time is not of the essence, then first of all, teach your child not to eat in the morning. Because in the evening, in a calm environment, it will be easier for you to put your child to sleep and be with him.

To begin with, before feeding a child up to one year old, you need to give 50 g of formula or kefir, and then breastfeed. After a couple of days, increase the amount of formula feeding by 3 times. Next, gradually increase the volume of complementary foods to replace the entire process of breastfeeding during the period you desire.

Weaning a baby from the breast should be gradual

Gradually weaning the child, the mother also gradually loses milk. This process takes on average a month. If you need to wean your baby quickly, the milk will disappear in a couple of days.

But if there is a lot of milk, and for some reason you cannot feed the baby, then you will need to bandage your breasts.

Bandaging (bandaging) the chest occurs as follows:

• First you need to express your milk.
• Take a lot of cotton wool and place it in a thick layer around your chest.
• Take a wide bandage and tighten the glands for several days. Afterwards, remove it for a short time and repeat the procedure again. You need to wear the bandage until the milk disappears.
• If you feel that your breasts are swollen again, then express the milk.

This will cause your milk to disappear within a few weeks to a month. During this period, the mother needs to drink little liquid.

There are times when a mother needs to go to work, but the child is still very small. But you don’t want to immediately accustom him to the mixture. This is where expressed milk comes to the rescue.

You cannot wean your child abruptly

In this case, the baby needs to be accustomed to a bottle at least a month in advance. Because the baby will be completely reluctant to eat from a bottle, waiting for his mother’s breast. So first, ask your dad or grandma to bottle feed your baby.

It is not the mother who should do this, since the baby remembers that his mother fed him differently and may not want to eat from a bottle with his mother. To begin with, try to get your baby to eat 50-70 g of milk, and breastfeed the rest. Gradually increase bottle feeding while you are away from home.

You cannot deprive a baby of mother's milk in the following cases:

• For diseases, especially the gastrointestinal tract
• In summer, at high temperatures
• After vaccination

It is important to understand that weaning from mother’s milk is stressful for a child. And the younger the baby, the greater the stress. The child’s immunity may weaken, allergies, and gastrointestinal problems may appear.

But from a psychological point of view, it is easier for a six-month-old child to part with his mother’s breast than for a child one and a half years old. Because after a year the child already has close contact with his mother.

If there is a fever, it is forbidden to wean the child from the breast.

Therefore, if for some reason the mother does not feed the baby, then only she should bathe, dress and walk with him. Otherwise, the baby will be very lonely and will become very worried about the loss of his mother. Even while bottle-feeding, the mother should cuddle and stroke the baby as she did while breastfeeding.

IMPORTANT: Another pregnancy is not a reason to refuse to feed your child until six months.

In addition, many mothers noted that even when the child has already weaned, in moments of stress or fear, he begins to look for and ask for his mother’s breast. Don’t try to deprive him of this process too quickly, because this is the most wonderful period.

As it was?

In Russia, it was not customary to feed a child for longer than one and a half years. But in the countries of Asia and Africa, breastfeeding often continues up to 4-5 years. Even in prosperous Japan, children are sometimes not weaned until they are three years old. Until the early 90s of the last century, doctors recommended stopping feeding a child breast milk at the age of 10-12 months. But now the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends continuing breastfeeding for as long as mother and child desire
.

Pumping

Are you back at work or planning a trip without your child? This is not a reason to stop breastfeeding. Master pumping.

Experts from the World Health Organization consider breastfeeding to be optimal
for up to six months
. And then they suggest introducing complementary foods to children, without stopping breastfeeding until two years or more. In our country in recent years, more and more women are increasing the duration of breastfeeding. According to various sources, in large Russian cities, from 7 to 17 percent of babies receive breast milk at the age of 12-24 months. But is longer really better?

Expressing milk, milk stagnation when weaning a baby

As stated earlier, you need to wean your baby off the breast gradually. This question is very individual and depends on the woman herself, the amount of milk, the process and frequency of feeding.

If you gradually wean your baby off feeding, the milk may disappear within a month. In case of sudden refusal of feeding - for several days.

If your breasts swell and hurt, then you need to express a little milk. Even breast ligation sometimes requires pumping if a woman feels discomfort and pain.

If there is a lot of milk, then you need to express it

There are situations when a woman experiences stagnation of milk. The main symptoms are:

• Presence of hard lumps in the breast
• Redness at the site of lump formation
• Temperature increase

The reasons for such an unpleasant event may be:

• Feeding the baby at the same time.
• Feeding the baby in one position.
• Sleep in one position.
• Tight underwear.
• Reducing the amount of milk consumed and lack of pumping, the presence of milk residue.
• Changes in the composition of milk. If the milk becomes too fatty (excessive consumption of nuts can lead to this).
• Hot weather and a small amount of liquid consumed by the mother.

To prevent stagnation, you need to express in a timely manner. If you find lumps, then you need to massage your breasts and rub them. Yes, it hurts, but you have to endure it.

When rubbing, use baby cream or sunflower oil to avoid damaging the skin. After the lumps have softened, you need to express again.

Doctors also advise constantly changing the baby's position during feeding and feeding the baby as often as possible to prevent the formation of excess milk.

To avoid stagnation, you need to feed your baby regularly and properly.

Compresses also help. To begin with, warm, warming, and after pumping cold to reduce swelling.

If during stagnation a woman develops a fever and persists for more than a day, she should immediately consult a doctor. Also, a trip to the doctor should not be postponed if the lumps do not soften and remain dense for more than 5 days.

Weaning age

— Alla Anatolyevna, many mothers are concerned about the question at what age to stop breastfeeding.

— According to Russian women of the older generation, our grandmothers, a child should be weaned at one year old.

According to WHO, breastfeeding is considered natural for a child up to 2 years of age, and up to six months, exclusive breastfeeding is recommended, that is, ideally, a child under six months should not receive any other food - only breast milk

. Then they begin to give him complementary foods. And in the second year of life, he mainly receives complementary foods and, in addition to it, breast milk - as a rule, in the first and last feeding.

I believe that breastfeeding can be completed between one and two years, everything is at the request of mother and baby. It is best to stop breastfeeding when you can. When the baby is already eating fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, then you can wean him from the breast.

Moreover, a child at the age of one year already has 8 teeth - 4 on top, 4 on bottom. This is also a signal for weaning, because breast milk is intended for babies who do not have teeth.

When it comes to weaning, everything is individual. There are babies who, even before one year of age, refuse their mother’s breast for a number of reasons. And there are babies who require breastfeeding even after a year, even when the mother has introduced all complementary foods. If at the same time the mother has breast milk and a desire to breastfeed, continue breastfeeding. And in addition to it, in the second year of life, the child can receive 1-2 servings of powdered milk formula. Most often, regular or, for example, a mixture of goat milk MAMAKO® Premium 3 for comfortable digestion as an addition to complete nutrition. If the mother has completed breastfeeding, the mixture of the third formula must be given to the baby in the second year of life.

— Why a mixture of the third formula, and not cow’s or goat’s milk in industrial packaging?

— Cow's milk contains nutrients, the amount of which is not adapted to the needs of the child. Human breast milk is a low-protein product. And formula three powdered milk formula is also a low-protein product. The protein content of cow's milk is 3.2 g per liter, it is a high-protein product that is not at all suitable for children in the first year of life and is not entirely suitable for feeding children in the second year of life. But mixtures of formula three are useful for children of the second year of life as a low-protein product. In addition, they are enriched with macro- and microelements: calcium, phosphorus, vitamin D. The content of sugars and galacto-oligosaccharides in dry milk formula is somewhat different than in regular milk, and its composition is close to human breast milk. Therefore, formula three formula is better than baby milk.

It is made specifically for small children, meets their needs for growth and development and ensures comfortable digestion.

— Is it true that after a year, as the child grows and matures, breast milk changes composition, its quantity decreases, it loses its nutritional properties and can no longer satisfy the child’s nutritional needs?

— I wouldn’t say that there are no useful substances in mother’s breast milk in the second year of a baby’s life. The composition of breast milk changes. It changes depending on the age of the child, the time of day and even the time of feeding. Each woman has her own, and it is very diverse. We don't know exactly what each individual child needs. And the best thing here is to follow the wishes of the child and the mother’s desire to breastfeed. However, the basis of a child’s diet in the second year of life should be complementary foods. Cereal complementary foods are given for breakfast - these are milk porridges, they can be given with goat milk, for example, MAMAKO®. Fruit complementary foods correct nutrition - these are pieces of fruit, juices or purees. Vegetable puree or pieces of vegetables are given for lunch, as are meat puree or pieces of meat. In addition, in the second year of life, the baby’s diet should include fish, eggs, and vegetable oil - olive or sunflower. Nutrition should be complete, sufficient and, taking into account the child’s nutritional interests, varied.

— The diet of a child over one year old is already quite varied. What place does mother’s breast milk occupy in it and can a baby do without it?

— If in the first year of life the basis of a child’s nutrition is mother’s breast milk, then in the second year the basis is complementary feeding. This food is pureed and more liquid than that of adults, but thicker than that of infants of the first year of life: puree, soufflé, hashish. WHO recommends breastfeeding your child until age 2, if possible. But WHO works in all countries, and this recommendation primarily applies to countries with a lack of child nutrition. Of course, it is better for the baby to receive mother's milk than to receive nothing.

There is no shortage of baby food in Russia. Therefore, it is important for Russian mothers to remember that breast milk ceases to be the basis of nutrition in the second year of life

baby, although it does not lose its nutritional properties.

• If a child does not wake up at six in the morning, but sleeps until nine - before breakfast, he can get milk porridge, cottage cheese and other products for breakfast.
• If he had dinner in the evening, washed himself and falls asleep without breast milk, you can stop breastfeeding. If your child has enough nutrition, it is not necessary to breastfeed him until he is 2 years old.
• If the baby still asks for the breast early in the morning or in the evening after dinner and the mother has milk, feed as desired.
• If a mother is tired of breastfeeding a baby over a year old and his diet is varied, it is worth stopping breastfeeding.

— Should you stop breastfeeding in the summer or is it better to postpone until the fall to reduce the risk of infectious diseases?

— There is an opinion that breast milk protects the baby from intestinal infections in the summer. It is a myth. Yes, intestinal infections are typical for summer - with diarrhea, fever, vomiting. But breastfeeding has no effect on intestinal infections. Many mothers do not dare to stop breastfeeding in winter, fearing that the baby will get ARVI. This is also unfounded, because at the age of 1.5-2 years the baby is unlikely to receive any immunity from the mother through breast milk. He received antibodies during childbirth, and breast milk has no effect on reducing the baby’s seasonal illnesses.

Lactostasis: symptoms in nursing

Probably all mothers know about lactostasis, some from rumors, and some from their own experience. But one way or another, everyone knows that this disease should be avoided.

Lactostasis is the name given to stagnation of milk that forms in the breast. We talked about this a little in the previous section. But now let's look at this problem in more detail. Since this problem requires an immediate solution and brings quite a lot of discomfort to the mother.

Lactostasis is dangerous

The formation of lactostasis can be caused by two reasons:

• Increased milk production
• Impaired milk flow due to a blocked or narrow milk duct

Factors that contribute to the development of lactostasis are:

• Discrepancy between the amount of milk produced and the size of the lumen of the milk tube.
• Flat or cracked nipple. In this case, breastfeeding becomes difficult.
• Stress and intense physical activity during feeding. In this case, a spasm of the mammary duct occurs.
• Ineffective milk sucking by the baby. This can happen when the baby is not latched to the breast correctly.
• Wearing tight underwear, which causes compression of the chest.
• Large breasts and their sagging, due to this, the outflow of milk from below the breast does not occur completely.
• Being in a draft or cold.

Signs of lactostasis are:

• Breast tissue thickening
• Pain during palpation
• Pattern of dilated veins on the skin of the chest
• Tightness in the chest that persists even after feeding
• Temperature increase

It hurts when palpated

It is important to prevent lactostasis, as it can lead to mastitis in the future. As a preventative , it is important to remember the basic rules:

• It is important to prevent milk from building up in the breasts. To do this, you do not need to drink a lot of liquid in the first week after birth. You need to drink no more than 1 liter of liquid.
• Put your baby to your breast more often. Moreover, try to feed the baby with both breasts at one feeding.
• If there is too much milk, then you need to express the excess milk.
• Massage your breasts regularly, especially vigorously and thoroughly massage the lumps on your breasts.
• If you feel more swelling in one breast, then give it to your baby more often so that he sucks all the milk out of it. But at the same time, do not forget about the second breast so that stagnation does not form in it.
• Make compresses from Vishnevsky ointment, petroleum jelly and camphor oil or alcohol. After you express milk, apply a compress to the skin and cover it with cellophane on top. Secure the bandage with a bandage and keep it on for about 8 hours.
• If you see a doctor, he may recommend an ultrasound massage or an oxytocin injection.

Method of weaning

— How to stop breastfeeding?

— If you decide to learn how to drive a car, you need to sit down and go. If you need to wean your baby from the breast, you need to take it and wean it. In this case, I advise you to go to the sea. Mothers worry that the baby will cry. Of course he will cry. But to say that a child will remember excommunication as some kind of psychological trauma is groundless. Therefore, I advise the mother to go on vacation for a week, and when she returns, the baby will no longer remember breastfeeding.

— What should a mother do if she wants to stop breastfeeding because the baby is already big, but she still has a lot of milk?

— Most often, if a mother has enough milk and needs to stop breastfeeding, a hormonal drug is prescribed. Mom takes it, prolactin levels decrease, and lactation stops.

— Do mothers with increased lactation need to cover their breasts with a scarf or wear a bra one size smaller to stop lactation?

- No, all this cannot be done because of the danger to the woman’s health. There is a high risk of developing lactostasis - stagnation of milk in the ducts of the mammary glands, mastitis and purulent complications of lactation. It is better to consult a doctor who will prescribe a hormonal drug to stop lactation. Other “folk” ways to reduce lactation, for example, taking decoctions of mint or sage, increasing physical activity and others, do not affect lactation in any way. There is no more or less milk.

— Is it necessary to pump during weaning?

- Yes, you need to express, but not completely, but a little. If the mother feels a rush of milk or a feeling of fullness, you need to express a little milk to ease the fullness and reduce the feeling of heaviness in the chest. This is the prevention of lactostasis - stagnation of milk, which will help the mother keep her breasts healthy. The amount of prolactin will eventually decrease, and lactation will gradually stop.

Every mother should try to breastfeed for at least the first six months of her baby's life. But the decision about when to stop breastfeeding will be a personal one. Trust yourself and your baby's wishes. As long as you both enjoy breastfeeding, you can continue breastfeeding. It also happens that weaning from breastfeeding occurs early, and then a properly selected adapted milk formula will support the health and development of the child.

Candidate of Medical Sciences, pediatrician Alla Anatolyevna Shcherbakova

*The ideal food for an infant is mother's milk. WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months. MAMAKO® supports this recommendation. Before introducing new foods into your baby’s diet, consult a specialist.

Medicines, tablets to stop lactation in women

When to stop breastfeeding is an individual matter. And no matter what doctors advise, the mother herself has the right to choose the optimal time to wean her child from the breast. The only correct decision that comes to the mother’s mind is to stop lactation with medication.

But is it worth doing this, because WHO recommends a natural way to reduce lactation, namely, reducing the baby’s attachment to the breast. Medication interruption is recommended when it comes to emergency suppression of lactation. This happens during the postpartum period or if an abortion is performed at a long term.

The reasons for taking medications are:

• Late miscarriage
• Death of a child in childbirth
• Mother's bad habits
• Reception of chemotherapy by the mother due to the discovery of a malignant tumor
• Active pulmonary tuberculosis
• AIDS or HIV
• Herpes on nipples

If you have the following symptoms, medication is recommended:

• Abnormal development of female nipples
• Mastitis with pus and resulting breast pathologies

But despite the general opinion that taking medications is harmless, many side effects are observed in this case. All medications greatly affect a woman’s hormonal background and create serious changes in it.

Tablets to stop lactation

Side effects in this case are:

• Attacks of nausea and vomiting
• Headache and dizziness
• Decreased pressure

Taking a course of drugs is up to two weeks; during this entire period, some side effects may be observed. It is important to keep certain tips in mind:

• The choice of drugs and dosage should be up to the attending physician, no initiative.
• Drugs should be prescribed only after examining the woman.
• It is prohibited to use drugs to temporarily stop lactation. In this case, it is better to express milk.

These drugs are quite harmful

The choice of drugs to stop lactation is small. Among them you can use:

• Stilboestrol is a rather harmful drug and is practically not used precisely because of the huge number of negative reviews. But it is still on the market.
• Estrogen - this hormone must be combined with testosterone. After taking the drug, there is pain and the appearance of lumps in the chest.
• Bromocriptine - used for severe mastitis or if the mother wants to stop breastfeeding. The action occurs due to the effect on prolactin synthesis.
• Cabergoline is an alternative to the previous drug. In this case, the least number of negative reviews was noted. It is also offered for sale under the names Bergolak, Agapates, Dostinex.

Each of the drugs may have adverse reactions, so you should consult your doctor before taking it, and in case of the slightest negative condition, seek help and advice from a hospital.

How to stop breast milk lactation using folk remedies and methods: recipes

Since drugs are a rather harmful way to stop lactation, the right option would be to take herbal remedies.

Using sage is a quick and safe way to stop your baby from feeding. Considering that medications are harmful to health, and ligation of the breast can lead to mastitis or stagnation, folk remedies remain the safest solution to the issue.

Stopping lactation with sage

Sage can be taken in several ways:

• Oil – divide 20 drops into 4 doses and consume until the milk disappears completely. You can also lubricate your chest with it to relieve inflammation.
• Tincture – add 1 tsp of herb to a glass of water. After infusing for an hour and a half, take a quarter glass throughout the day. By the end of the day the glass should be empty.
• Collection of herbs - add leaves picked from walnuts and hop cones to the sage herb. The first two components are 1 tsp each, the last one is 2 tsp. take the same as the infusion.
• Decoction – for 2 tsp of herb you need to take 500 g of boiling water. This decoction should be taken 5 times a day, dividing it into equal portions.
• Tea in a bag is not very effective and has a weak gradual effect. You need to drink it for 7-10 days, 250 g per day.

Sage should not be used if:

• Grass allergies
• Pregnancy
• Acute kidney diseases
• Diseases of the nervous system
• Acute gastrointestinal diseases

Peppermint is also used if you need to stop lactation. According to the properties of mint, the action goes directly to the mammary gland. It is important to take mint correctly and complete the full course until milk is completely lost, otherwise a one-time dose may have the opposite effect: milk production will become more intense.

IMPORTANT: After taking mint, the baby should not be put to the breast, as its components will begin to accumulate in breast milk. These components are harmful to the child.

The basic recipe with mint is as follows:

• Pour 2 tablespoons of dried mint leaves into 2 cups of warm water. Leave for an hour and a half and take 50 g three times a day before meals. You need to prepare it for one day, as the product spoils quickly.

Using Peppermint

A rather controversial issue is the use of cabbage leaves. How effective it is is not known for certain.

The cabbage needs to be rolled out to extract the juice. Place the sheet on your chest and secure with gauze. You need to keep the compress until the leaf withers.

PART TWO – FOOD AND PRACTICAL

So, after all, how and when to stop breastfeeding so that it goes as smoothly as possible?

Step one: developing a routine

“The beginning of the end” is rooted in infancy: from the age of three months, experts advise switching the child to feeding at intervals of about 3 hours, moving away from the practice of “feeding on demand.” (Looking ahead, I’ll note that the end of breastfeeding itself is an element of the regime, that is, to some extent, it limits the child’s freedom. And it’s better if with restrictions (with the very fact that restrictions in life can actually be) the child will become familiar with it gradually, than if one day the awareness of the need to take into account limitations occurs suddenly and against a background of stress.)

Well, from the point of view of physiology, milk (being a complete food for a child) is digested in the stomach for a very certain time, and it is not worth “diluting” the digested milk by half with a “fresh” portion. I hope for the reader's common sense, however, I will remind you of the rule of the golden mean. Of course, there is no need to grit your teeth and endure the desperate cries of a hungry baby, strictly following the prescribed regimen and waiting the prescribed three hours between feedings. The regime should be established naturally! And believe me, this happens without difficulty when the mother trusts her intuition, and the daily routine of the nursing mother herself is quite stable.

So, a three-hour interval between feedings by the baby’s third month is usually established naturally if:

— the mother learned to listen to the baby and feel his needs;

needed it (and not when it seemed that he needed her, or when it was convenient for her to feed him);

- did not give anything other than breast milk (or water in exceptional cases, for example, during illness).

The regime is the first small step towards parting with the “tity”. It begins with the fact that the mother no longer offers the baby the breast herself, but also does not refuse him if he persistently asks for it.

In this mode - “not offer, but also not refuse” - and trying, if possible, to maintain a 3-hour interval between feedings, mother and baby live for about another three months. And only at the age of about six months does the child first become acquainted with new tastes that differ from mother’s milk.

Step two: introducing complementary foods

The previous stage can be considered preparatory to the introduction of complementary foods. It would seem that at three months no one even thinks about it, the baby doesn’t even have teeth! However, he already knows that, for example, after morning feeding there should be a walk, and after an evening bath - titty and sleep. That is, the child is familiar with the elements of the daily routine, and, accordingly, the nutritional regimen.

The authors of other materials have written well and in detail about how to correctly introduce complementary foods, but here (talking about the end of breastfeeding ) we will only focus on the fact that the introduction of complementary foods in itself is a continuation of weaning.

The child grows, and at the same time his digestive system improves. ...One day he will ride a bicycle (and maybe fly a plane), one day he will learn to use a potty, and a little later, perhaps, he will conquer Everest or another peak... But these exciting moments are, perhaps, a long way off - Now the parents are faced with a simpler task: to teach him to feed himself.

Making sure that learning such simple skills occurs gradually and brings pleasure to the baby, at this stage we focus primarily on the child’s interest in new foods and new tastes. By offering him this or that product (fruit or vegetable puree, porridge or juice), we do not impose on him something that the child clearly does not like. Yes, not all children love broccoli and spinach, although they are among the first healthy and in every sense valuable foods recommended by pediatricians for complementary feeding. The list of these products is quite large - choose what your child likes, and gradually increasing the amount of food eaten, you can first replace one of the breastfeedings, and then more.

By replacing one of the feedings, you will thus, unnoticed by the baby and without harming his digestion, move one more step towards the end of breastfeeding.

Here the time has come, finally, to talk about mom . By the age of six months, one of the feedings - as a rule, first of all in the morning - is already skipped, and therefore there are not three hours left for milk production, as before, but six. Later, one of the evening feedings is also missed, and unnoticed by both participants, twice as much time passes between breastfeedings as before. It’s “unnoticed”, because we agree that we want only the best for the baby (and ourselves!), and therefore we agreed that weaning will happen smoothly.

And so the number of feedings has decreased, figuratively speaking, mother’s “tita” no longer needs to “stand at the stove” every three hours - now you can prepare milk less often. Milk production in a woman's body (like other functions) is regulated by hormones . Prolactin becomes less, and antagonist hormones take its place - those responsible for menstrual function. It is during this period - when the baby begins to receive complementary foods - that a nursing mother may begin her period , and this is normal.

This is what physiology is all about. We know that hormonal levels are closely related to a person’s psycho-emotional state. Prolactin is a motherhood hormone. There is less of it - the mother feels more free , and gradually begins to leave the baby, “let go” of him and herself. At first, the mother leaves for an hour or two, later this time can increase, but, as always, when it comes to introducing changes, the main thing here is gradualism.

The child, meanwhile, suddenly discovers that life is not so terrible without his mother. Moreover, food tastes good - dad, grandma, and nanny are also able to give him gastronomic pleasure. This is an important moment in psychological terms: the child feels that “with mom, of course, it’s good, but without her it’s not so bad .

... Once upon a time, today's young (or not so young) parents themselves lived in their parents' house. At some point, they had to leave their father's house in order to develop further, study and learn new things, and finally, build their family. If the children, and their children’s children, and all future generations had remained living in their parents’ house to this day... It’s terrible, it’s even hard to imagine what kind of crush and mutual discontent would have formed

It is no coincidence that I am talking about this now, because, in fact, a mother’s first short absences from home without a child are, in turn, the first step towards the child leaving the parental family for “independent swimming,” which will happen in 17-20 years. 25…. The fearlessness of our navigator largely depends on how smoothly your child approaches this moment. It’s funny to prevent this and say “this is not soon, this is not about us.” This is about us, the child grows quickly, and time flies unnoticed.

However, having finished this lyrical digression, let us return to the topic of ending breastfeeding.

Step three: encouraging independence

By the year - if the introduction of complementary foods went according to your schedule - the number of feedings has decreased to several times a day, and most of these “several times” occur at night or in the evening. From the point of view of the physiology of a one-year-old child’s body, mother’s milk no longer has the same nutritional value as in the first months of life. Strictly speaking, it may well be replaced by other dairy (or better yet, fermented milk) products.

No, mother’s milk, of course, is still an ideally balanced product for a baby; none of the scientists has yet been able to repeat the formula of breast milk. No adapted formulas are capable of “adjusting” to the needs of the child’s body as much as mother’s milk - its composition changes not only throughout the entire feeding period, but even during the day, but!

The fact is that the needs of a growing child’s body are no longer satisfied exclusively by mother’s milk. The child has teeth - this is the first signal that he is able not only to suck, but also to bite (and later, chew). And again, let us remember the basic principle of any change - smoothness and gradualness. For about a year (plus or minus 2-3 months), the child from time to time tries to take part in feeding himself - he snatches the spoon from the hands of adults or takes food with his hands. In my opinion, a wonderful manifestation of independence! Why wait for it to fade away? The desire to eat independently needs encouragement (and we said above that all changes are most effective if they are implemented at the moment of greatest interest in them).

Get a tiny spoon that is comfortable for children’s hands (there are a variety of spoons on sale - with a curved handle, thick, plastic or, conversely, miniature, silver, like coffee spoons) and.. be patient! When you feed your child porridge, mashed potatoes, or whatever else you feed him, put a spoon in his hand . Naturally, he will smear food on himself, on the table, on you, but you and I understand that there is no malicious intent in this! After all, you didn’t immediately learn, for example, to drive a car - remember your first lessons at the race track: now your baby is practically doing the same thing, mastering a new and exciting process .

...I don’t know what the venerable experts will say, but I gave my youngest daughter a fork when she was one year old - Anya just really asked for “adult” forks, but, not knowing how to handle them, she was very upset. I had to buy a tiny (less than a teaspoon) “girl’s fork”... And you should have seen Anyuta’s face when, after several attempts, she finally managed to put food into her mouth with the help of this fork! It was clear that Anya was not so much pleased with the taste of the food as she felt terribly dexterous and as independent as the rest of the family. (Without at all doubting the reader’s sanity, just in case, I’ll still note in parentheses that one-year-old Anya was never left alone with a fork - naturally, such a dangerous device requires adult supervision when it ends up in clumsy children’s hands!)...

The focus on the topic of independent baby nutrition is not accidental in the article about the end of breastfeeding - since this is the final stage . After all, when we finish something, we do not die, but simply begin a new stage; and ending breastfeeding, we transfer the child to “human” food. If your baby eats complementary foods with pleasure, you can be congratulated - complete weaning is just around the corner.

The most difficult step: giving up night feedings

Let's turn to the mother again - even though she eats ideally, and in addition, supports herself with vitamins, minerals and other supplements, after a year of breastfeeding, the resources of the female body are still significantly depleted . Why then does lactation continue?

The fact is that the hormone prolactin , which is responsible for milk production, is produced not depending on whether the mother is full or not (this, of course, also affects lactation, but more on the quality of milk than on its quantity) - this same prolactin in large quantities quantities are produced at the moment the baby is applied to the breast. The more the baby suckles, the more milk appears. By the way, the notorious pumping, which is so popularly recommended for increasing lactation, has much less effect on milk production than such a simple and natural process as a child sucking at the breast.

So, another feature of prolactin is that this hormone mainly at night . And often, even having completely abandoned daytime feedings and retained night feedings in full, the mother cannot understand why milk production continues intensively? Night feedings are the best way to facilitate this.

So, having decided to “give up” with feedings in general, start giving up night feedings too. How to do this most painlessly? The fact is that a child (among other things) is also forced to nurse at night by the need for carbohydrate foods . Provide a sufficient intake of carbohydrates into the child's body shortly before bedtime, and the baby will sleep better .

...One mother of a two-year-old baby once complained to me that for more than two years she had not been able to sleep - the child woke her up 5-7 times a night, demanding the breast. The mother herself is a vegetarian, and for reasons of “learning to eat healthy,” she fed her son boiled zucchini without salt and sugar in the evenings. Without much enthusiasm, he ate no more than two spoons, and the mother believed that the child was full. Two hours after this “dinner” the boy went to bed; falling asleep, he emptied both of his mother’s breasts, and then literally continued to “hang on his tit” all night. The mother was looking for reasons in the emotional state of the child, until one day she and the baby had to spend the night visiting the grandmother. Secretly from his mother, the grandmother fed her grandson buckwheat porridge, and just before bedtime she also gave him a mug of warm oatmeal with milk. For the first time in his life, the boy went to bed well-fed, and slept without waking up until almost the morning, and his mother jumped up anxiously all night, checking if he was alive...

This is just a story from life, and not a ready-made recipe for feeding before bed. But in any case, nutritionists advise: the child’s evening dinner should be rich in carbohydrates - they will provide him with a restful sleep. I note that zucchini is, of course, also rich in carbohydrates, but, frankly speaking, in order for the child to be satisfied, the food offered must also be tasty.

How to stop breastfeeding: advice from a mammologist

The mammologist advises mothers who want to wean their baby from the breast to use the following tips:

• Reduce the amount of milk produced gradually. This can be achieved by breastfeeding your baby less often. If your breasts are full of milk, you need to express them periodically. Changes in color and fluid are a result of decreased milk supply.
• You should wear thick underwear or a sports top. You should still not tighten your breasts, as this can lead to mastitis.

A mammologist will advise you how to get rid of a painful problem

• The mother needs to change her diet - reduce the liquid she drinks and remove foods that stimulate lactation.
• Sometimes you just have to use medications. But this should be done only after consultation with a doctor.

Stopping breastfeeding is not an easy process. It is important to do everything slowly and gradually. Since sudden deprivation of a child’s mother’s milk can negatively affect his physical health and mental state in the future.

Until what age should you breastfeed?

There is no consensus among experts regarding the duration of breastfeeding. Some pediatricians believe that breastfeeding after a year is not advisable, others stop at the age of a year and a half, and supporters of radical views believe that a child can regularly breastfeed for as long as he wants.

The general opinion is that until four to six months the child should not receive anything other than mother's milk. At the age of 9 months - 1.5 years, when weaning most often occurs, mother's milk is still beneficial for the child. It still has protective and anti-infective properties. It contains substances that stimulate brain maturation, as well as enzymes that promote food digestion, etc. Children who have been breastfed for a long time are less likely to get sick in the future, adapt better to children's groups, and, according to some studies, have higher intellectual capabilities. Finally, and very importantly, the process of breastfeeding itself supports and complements the physical and psychological contact between mother and her baby.

In addition, long-term lactation is also beneficial for women: it reduces the risk of breast cancer.