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Weaning a yearling: a scheme for the abolition of GW. Komarovsky: weaning from breastfeeding. Doctor Komarovsky's advice Wean a child from breastfeeding according to Komarovsky

Mother's milk is the most valuable for the baby, but, despite this, the time will come when the baby will need to be weaned. It doesn’t matter if this is done out of necessity for the mother or because the baby has already grown up. Most importantly, this moment in time is usually not given due attention in terms of mom's feelings. You can find a lot of discussions on the topic of what to do to wean a child from the most expensive and enjoyable activity for him, but what about a mother with overflowing mammary glands? This is exactly what I want to talk about.

We wean the baby

For those who are faced with this issue for the first time and have not yet decided how the child will be weaned from the breast, I offer information on possible options. Those who have decided on this issue, you can safely proceed to reading the next part of the article.
Everything that I want to tell the reader of MirSovetov, I myself experience at a given moment in time, therefore I build my judgments and conclusions on real feelings that are not muffled by time, as a rule, these experiences are quickly forgotten, like any other unpleasant events.
Age. The first dilemma that mothers face is at what age this should be done. It is believed that the younger the child, the easier it will endure the process of weaning. And another opinion tells us that the longer breastfeeding (BF) lasts, the healthier the baby will be. Again, others believe that prolonged feeding leads to inhibition in the development of the child. Perhaps each of these statements has its own reasons and is true in its own way. But I propose to approach this issue from a different angle. The condition of the nursing mother is the main criterion. One way or another, after birth, a child is already a separate life, and although he is closely related to his mother, you cannot force a woman to be a “victim”. Therefore, wean your baby from the breast when you feel the need to. Only your emotional and physical state can be a 100% indicator. In addition, the confidence and readiness of the mother will have a positive effect on the baby. My baby turned 1 year and 2 weeks old, at the moment when I decided to take him away from breastfeeding. Previously, I asked this question for 2-3 weeks, sometimes I told my son that the milk would soon run out and I would have to eat on my own. Apparently, when my inner voice told me “enough”, I came with the child from the street in the evening and said: “That's it!”.
Ways. How to tell or explain to the baby that mom has no more milk? This is the question that scares me the most. In fact, this is a contrived problem. Subconsciously, every mother understands that with the termination of breastfeeding, the thread between her and the baby will become weaker. On the second day, I wanted to spit on everything and continue breastfeeding. The sensations were as if you were tearing off a piece of your heart, but on the other hand, the painful sensations in the glands made me hold on, because I understood perfectly well that sooner or later everything would start all over again.
So the options might be. Put on closed clothes so that the child cannot reach the breast and, when he tries, explain that there is no more milk, only in a mug. Let him drink and eat as much as he wants, having had enough, the child will stop his attempts. I have chosen this method.
As an option, very common, the child is sent for 2-3 days to his grandmother, so that he does not see his mother. This method is good for mothers, but, in my opinion, it is morally more difficult for a child. Imagine that he will not only be weaned from GV, but also from his mother! It's double stress.
With older children, you can already negotiate. Starting from about 1 year and 4 months (but again, children are different, so judge by your child, his level of development and perception). You can buy a skin-colored band-aid and seal the nipples so that the halo is also covered. When the child reaches for the breast, tell him that “the tit is now like this and you can’t take milk from her anymore.” My friend used this method when weaning her one and a half year old son. The child was puzzled, but no longer approached with this question. The first night I cried in my sleep, but then I calmed down, and I didn’t have to raise this issue anymore.
Another similar option is the suggestion of the concept of "titya - kaka". The nipples are smeared with lemon juice or other unpleasant-tasting product (usually something bitter). After 2-3 attempts, the child no longer wants to try to attach to the breast. The only thing is to choose such "lubricants" that will not harm the child. For example, I have heard about using mustard for this, but it is not only bitter, but also pungent. There are also special ointments that can be purchased at the pharmacy. But here is the individual decision of each mother.
Gradual weaning. Recently, psychologists advise to stretch the process of weaning for 2-3 months. To do this, it is recommended to gradually reduce feedings, starting with one in the morning and gradually reducing to once a week or two, reducing them to zero. That is, we remove the morning feeding, the next two weeks later, and so on. Last but not least, we remove night feedings. This method is also considered favorable for the mother, since the milk is supposed to burn out gradually. But it seemed to me that this is not a very good option when feeding on demand, and not according to the regimen.
Weaning period. How many days will the child wean? From 2-3 days to several weeks. But this does not mean that the child will require the breast all this period. He just needs time to forget this process. Therefore, try not to appear topless in front of the child for the first month (or longer) so as not to disturb his memory and desires. He will reach for his chest, you will need to be sensitive to his behavior and give him food or drink. Tears and tantrums about this in different children last for different times. For example, I weaned my eldest daughter with the help of my mother, it was three or four sleepless nights for her. But I decided to excommunicate my son on my own, next to me he endured all this easier than I expected. We cried only on the first evening when we went to bed, but after 20 minutes I found something to distract him and he fell asleep. You can distract with a toy, a phone, something else that the child will show interest in, in our case it was the melody of Wind Music - I think everyone is familiar with this thing.
Weaning from breastfeeding provides an answer to another question: when do children stop eating at night. When you no longer need to breastfeed. For some time the child will wake up at night, you need to give him a drink. It can be milk, tea or just some water. I gave milk for the first three nights, but, seeing that he drinks no more than 3-4 sips, I realized that he does not wake up from hunger and replaced milk with tea. When the child is not bothered by anything, he sleeps all night without waking up at all.
It is desirable to drink the child from a mug, and not from a bottle. This is due to the fact that the child needs to wean from the innate sucking reflex. If you use a bottle, then after a while you will have to fight the attachment to the bottle. And after weaning, you will continue to get up at night to feed the baby, but from the nipple.

Now let's talk about mom's feelings. Unfortunately, there is no way to tell the mammary glands that more milk is not needed. We no longer feed the baby, but the milk continues to abide. As a result, the chest is greatly stretched, and the sensation becomes more and more unpleasant and painful with each flush. It is recommended to wear a bra during this period of time. It should be pitted, but dense cotton (natural) fabric and should not stretch. That is, to play the role of a corset. If you don’t have one in your wardrobe, you can wear any, but get ready for the fact that it can cut into the body and cause itching: stretched skin becomes more sensitive. You will need to wear it until the milk completely burns out. Alternatively, an elastic bandage or something else is recommended. But it is more painful and unpleasant.
Troubles begin on the second day, when there is a lot of milk. Choose for yourself which option you prefer. You can express milk little by little, this will help alleviate the "pressure", you can use a breast pump and express to soft breasts, but leaving some milk. In the first option, the burnout of milk will pass faster, but for several days there will be a lot of discomfort. In the second, there will be no painful sensations, but the burnout process will be delayed. To some extent, this is the same as taking the baby off the breast gradually.
When decanting according to the first principle, for different women, the moment of cessation of milk production can begin on 3-5 days. I pumped a little on days 2 and 3, the hot flashes stopped on the 5th day. These days, give up hot and liquid food: soups, tea, etc. Or rather, reduce to a minimum, arrange fasting days for yourself. It is better to keep the restriction in the liquid until the milk in the glands completely burns out, that is, until the moment when the breast returns to its pre-feeding size, it becomes soft and all seals, even small ones, disappear. After that, for about another 1-2 months, give up anything that can help restore lactation. Especially from beer, because after drinking it, hot flashes can resume. Or do not abuse these products, eat in small quantities and monitor the body's reaction to them.
The process of burning milk is also accompanied by certain, not very pleasant sensations. If during hot flashes it is felt how the skin is stretched, then combustion is accompanied by the reverse process - “stretching”. It's less painful, but also unpleasant. Something seems to be sucking out the contents of the glands from within, and at times there is still a tingling sensation. After the tides stop, the "resorption" will last another 5-7 days.
Pain and psychological state (despite the fact that most women are already depressed while caring for a child) lead to nervous breakdowns and increased excitability. Therefore, it will be necessary to show patience to the mother herself, and care for her husband and other family members. You can drink sedative herbs or antidepressants.

Suppression of lactation

It's no secret that there are a lot of recommendations on what to eat and drink to improve lactation. Did you know that there are also various means to suppress lactation? These can be specially made drugs that can be purchased at a pharmacy, but it is better to use them only as directed by a doctor (in agreement with him), or folk remedies. I want to talk about both options, because I think that this knowledge can sooner or later be useful to any woman (and caring husbands too).
Medical (chemical) preparations. There are many different drugs that can be prescribed by a doctor to suppress lactation in various situations that require it. All these drugs have a hormonal composition that affects the brain, or rather, the anterior pituitary gland, forcing it to work in an inhibited (suspended) state. The course, depending on the drug, can last from 1 to 14 days. Here are some names of such drugs: bromocriptine, parlodel, dostinex, microfollin, norkolut, turinal, acetomepregenol, orgametril, duphaston, primolyut-nor, utrozhestan, cabergoline. All of them are created on different hormones and in different concentrations, this is what explains such a time interval for taking them. These preparations are produced both in the form of tablets and in the form of solutions for injection.
Since these hormonal drugs have a number of side effects and harmful effects on the woman's body, it is possible to decide on their use only after consulting a doctor and under his strict supervision. There are contraindications for some drugs: hypertension, varicose veins, kidney and liver diseases, diabetes mellitus, thrombophlebitis, as well as various diseases and abnormalities in the work of a woman's reproductive organs.
I also want to draw your attention to the fact that prolonged pain in the area of ​​the mammary glands, non-absorbable seals during the period of cessation of breastfeeding can be a sign of mastitis. If there is any doubt or suspicion, immediately contact your attending gynecologist for a check, it is in such cases that it is most often recommended to use the ones listed above.
Folk remedies. And now let's talk about the means that each woman can use on her own during the completion of lactation. Before special pills were invented, such a simple procedure as taking diuretics was added to the restriction in fluids to suppress lactation. There is no need to drink chemicals and pills, because there are a lot of herbs that have this effect.
When you stop lactation, your task is to get rid of excess fluid, thereby stopping the production of milk, contributing to its “burnout” or “resorption”. Drinking diuretic herbs should be started on the first day and continued for 5-7 days, then as needed, but most likely this will be enough. I started taking an infusion of a diuretic herb on the 4th day (before that, I just didn’t know that something could be done), after 2-3 hours the hot flashes stopped, and literally after 5-7 hours the sensations from the by-catch changed to the sensations of “burnout » milk. The chest became softer, tightness and pain began to weaken.
Here is a list of some herbs that have diuretic and diaphoretic effects: bear ears (bearberry), lingonberries, basil, Russian beans, wintering horsetail, madder dye, garden parsley, elecampane. In general, it will not be difficult to find such herbs, they are in every pharmacy.
But the most interesting thing is that there are herbs that contribute to the cessation of lactation. Salvia officinalis is most often mentioned for these purposes. One of its healing properties is the cessation of lactation in nursing mothers. For this, tea is made and drunk for several days, healers say that 2-3 days are enough to completely stop this process. In addition, it has a beneficial effect on a woman's health, treats infertility and strengthens the body. Other herbs: white cinquefoil, jasmine, common belladonna.
I managed only with diuretic grass, but since after stopping feeding, milk production can resume for another 6 months, I think you can also drink herbs to inhibit lactation if you wish. MirSovetov warns that if you find milk in the glands after a six-month period from the last breastfeeding, you should seek medical advice, as this may be a sign of some disease.

The benefits that breastfeeding can bring to a child cannot be overestimated. It is impossible to find a mixture, even the most modern one, that could replace mother's milk. But the baby will grow up over time. It will need to be weaned off the chest somehow. If this does not happen naturally, you have to turn to special methods.

To wean a child without negative consequences, it is better to use the recommendations of real professionals. One of these is Dr. Komarovsky. It is mainly based on the recommendations of the World Health Organization, but also independently introduces some of its own observations from practice.

It is a well-established opinion that a child should be weaned from the breast when he is 2 years old. At this point, a slightly matured baby is able to start eating food specifically designed for children. But Komarovsky adds that one should not try to wean a child from the breast until he is one and a half years old. Otherwise, the child will not have time to develop physiologically to the level at which only complementary foods will benefit him.

Here is a video in which Komarovsky talks about breastfeeding.

When to stop breastfeeding

Great attention should be paid to the development of the child during weaning from breastfeeding. True, sometimes the natural cessation of lactation in the mother comes first. Then you have to wean the child forcibly. Komarovsky recalls that lactation can stop much earlier than the desired date. If the baby stopped eating during one feeding, you need to think about stopping feeding.

The doctor warns that weaning should take place without serious stress. He needs to stop breastfeeding gradually. Komarovsky offers 5 ways that will make it easier for both mother and her child to survive weaning. To wean a child from breastfeeding, you should do the following.

1. Mom should limit herself in the use of any liquids. The less liquid enters the body, the more difficult it is for the child to feed. He will feel difficulties, will gradually wean from such nutrition.
2. Reducing the duration of feeding. Sometimes feeding can be skipped, and the baby can be switched to some interesting activity.
3. Stop pumping milk.
4. Increased physical activity for the mother in order to remove the maximum amount of fluid from the body.
5. Avoiding foods that can stimulate milk production.

Each advice of Komarovsky is aimed at making it difficult or uninteresting for the child to eat in the same way. As a result, it will be much easier to wean him, and the process will not be excessively stressful.

Forced weaning

Sometimes it happens that there is no way to wean a child from breastfeeding. According to WHO experts, after 1 year weaning is not premature. And up to this point, weaning from GW is not only difficult, but also dangerous. And yet, sometimes you have to do this. Komarovsky suggests switching the attention of the offspring to other interesting activities and methods of calming.

Mistakes of new mothers

Mothers, especially young ones, sometimes make serious mistakes when they want to wean a child. You can not show too much enthusiasm and zeal. Therefore, Komarovsky warns against actions that can cause harm. Never do the following.

1. Refuse to breastfeed when the baby is sick. His body is weakened, and breast milk is the most important source of substances that maintain immunity at a high level.
2. Wean from the chest before a sudden change of scenery. This will be double stress for the baby. It is necessary to maintain at least something familiar so that the load does not turn out to be unbearable.
3. Forcibly excommunicate a child if he is clearly not ready or does not want to. No need to torture the baby, trying to wean him against his will. It is worth waiting at least 2-3 weeks, and then try again.
4. Do not feed the baby for a long time with milk. This action will not help to painlessly pass the excommunication. Yes, and mom endangers herself, because she risks “earning” inflammation or mastopathy.
5. Try to do it in the summer. The danger of catching any infection is too great.

Do you trust the doctor?

Komarovsky's recommendations cannot be taken as the only correct option for weaning a child from breastfeeding. After all, the doctor's opinion is subjective. If you can't follow his advice, don't despair. To improve the health of the child, you can use, for example, Derinat. It allows you to strengthen the immune system and make it easier to transfer potentially traumatic stages of development.

It is wonderful when mothers can breastfeed their babies, and even for a long time. This is inherent in nature, and the longer the baby suckles, the stronger his immunity will be. After all, for him it is an irreplaceable, most useful and valuable food. But the time comes when the mother begins to think about how to properly stop breastfeeding. Of course, it is worth listening to the advice of lactation experts so that weaning from the breast does not harm either the baby or the mother in any way.

The question of the duration of lactation concerns only mother and baby. To date, there are many different opinions, including pediatricians from the World Health Organization, that it is recommended not to wean a baby from the breast for up to two years or more. Although many doctors believe that, as a rule, after a year, the child eats not so much mother's milk as complementary foods. He already eats vegetable soups, meat, dairy products, that is, he eats the usual food of the family. But if a baby after a year eats only breast milk, then this is absolutely wrong. Complementary foods per day should be at least 600-700 grams, and if this does not work out, then this is the wrong feeding system. According to the theory, putting a baby to the breast after a year has not so much a biological (nutritional) expediency, how much the closeness of the child and mother ensures. Therefore, how many times and for how long to breastfeed your baby is a personal matter for every mother and her family.
WHO pediatricians recommend:

• be sure to feed your baby up to 6 months and no less if mom can do it;
• it is advisable to breastfeed for up to a year;
• if mom and baby are comfortable and want it, then you can continue to feed as much as you like.

Experts in this field are still figuring out what the benefits of breastfeeding after a year are. They do not doubt, and moreover, argue that continued breastfeeding clearly reduces the risk of infections and diseases.

How to understand that this moment has come?

As mentioned above, breast milk is very useful for a small body, so it is very important for a mother not to make a mistake and start weaning her baby from her breast correctly. Then this process will be most painless for both mother and baby. You can think about it when the baby is one year old. Milk is no longer as important as it was a few months ago, but basically gives only the opportunity to feel mother's closeness and care.

Situations are different, and not all mothers have the patience to feed the baby until the milk runs out naturally. This is scientifically called involution, when the mother's milk disappears on its own and is no longer secreted from the mammary glands. But this can be expected a year or two, or even more. The opinion of Dr. Komarovsky is that there is no need to wait for involution in order to tear the child from the breast. A child already at this age is able to digest adult food, and the mother has already fulfilled her duty towards him by breastfeeding him at least up to 6 months. Further, again, at will, if it is so convenient for mother and child, then they can continue this relationship.

It may also happen that the child himself refuses the breast due to malnutrition, but this happens extremely rarely. Basically, children are ready to suck their mother's breasts almost to kindergarten.

The next circumstance that can force a mother to stop breastfeeding is going to work or an urgent departure. For some, this will go smoothly - without stress and tantrums, and someone will have to look for all sorts of tricks, because the baby does not want to give up his usual diet at all. Here you can not do without the involvement of a grandmother or relatives.

What is the best way to end lactation for mom?

There are several ways to end lactation, and each has both benefits and side effects. But which one to choose from them, each mother must decide for herself.

Pulling the chest or as it is also called "grandmother's".

Today, almost no one uses it, since it is considered ineffective and, in addition to worrying about the child, it can cause a lot of negative consequences in the form of physical discomfort. By pulling the breast, it will not be possible to reduce the activity of the glands, but on the contrary, the lactation process will continue, and the breast will overflow with milk. As a result, pain and fever may appear, which leads to the formation of mastitis.

medical

This is the most common way right now. Medications are used that will painlessly help end lactation in a couple of days. It is important not to use them yourself, but to go to a consultation with your doctor and get a prescription for them. Even after taking these drugs, it will be necessary to express milk from the breast so that stagnation does not form. Only expressing milk to the last drop is not recommended, so that it does not stay new, but little by little, relieving the feeling of heaviness in the chest.

Stopping breastfeeding naturally

This method is the longest, but acceptable, since it does not cause psychological and physical damage to the health of the baby. If you listen to some of the advice of Dr. Komarovsky, you can achieve maximum efficiency:

• you should gradually remove unnecessary feedings and replace them with walks, games and other entertainment;
• try to give porridge for breakfast in the morning instead of the usual breast;
• reduce, and then completely replace daytime attachments to mother's breasts with motion sickness and lullabies;
• try every time less and less to breastfeed the baby in the evening before bedtime. It is better to feed him a tight dinner, and then shake in your arms;
• gradually move away from night attachments to the chest, replace it with motion sickness.

As pediatrician Komarovsky advises, the mother should offer the baby adult food more often so that he quickly forgets breast milk. Naturally, the child will immediately refuse cereals and soups and will continue to demand breasts. Over time, mother and baby will overcome this long transition from one condition to another. Mom's milk will gradually disappear.

What method of weaning from breastfeeding does Dr. Komarovsky recommend?

At the lessons at the school of Doctor Komarovsky, one mother asked Evgeny Olegovich the question: “Are there painless options for weaning a child from the breast?”

The doctor explained that it would never happen that the baby himself refused to breastfeed and told his mother: “I don’t want more, that’s enough!” He believes that the most correct and radical way to stop breastfeeding would be to invite a grandmother to her place for a couple of days, who will replace the mother of the child for two nights. Mom can go somewhere to relax for the weekend, and dad and grandmother will take on all the upbringing responsibilities and spend these days and nights with the baby. Upon returning home, when the child sees his mother and remembers why he needs her and what role she occupies in his life, he will only need to hold out for two hours. These two hours are very responsible, during which you should distract the child with some other activities, in addition to applying it to your chest. After a couple of hours, as the doctor assures, he will no longer remember about his mother's breasts.

But before leaving, the mother must definitely go to her gynecologist and consult on this issue. The doctor must prescribe a medication, as a rule, these are pills that you will need to drink in these two days to suppress lactation.
Dr. Komarovsky considers this option the most civilized for mothers who have decided to stop breastfeeding.
The pediatrician also advises to gradually accustom the baby to sleep in his crib before weaning. You should not start tearing the baby off the chest yet if he is sick or teething. Better to wait until things get better.

It is very important in this event that the mother is emotionally tuned, and the baby is prepared psychologically and physically. And most importantly, you need to make it clear to your child that they excommunicate him only from the breast, but not from his mother. In order for the baby to painlessly endure this stressful situation, you need to actively pay attention to him and show love and tenderness as often as possible.

Until recently, a newly-made mother was nervous that breast milk was not enough or it was of the wrong quality. But somehow everything got better smoothly, the baby has grown up and is already actively eating cereals, mashed meat, sour-milk products. He has his first teeth, and mom intuitively knows that it is time to stop breastfeeding.

How to do this painlessly for the child and your own body is a serious question. In addition, on women's forums on the Internet, where a woman will definitely climb in search of answers, they are always ready to intimidate and intimidate her to such an extent that she generally changes her mind about weaning the little one from her breast. Famous children's doctor Evgeny Komarovsky tells how and when to stop breastfeeding and what to do with lactation.

When to stop?

Breast milk is a very nutritious and valuable product for a newborn, and no mixture, even the most modern, expensive and adapted, can compete with the very nature of the food provided for the baby. Evgeny Komarovsky claims that after the appearance of teeth, a person no longer has a biological need for breast milk. When he can already eat thicker food, his body begins to require a qualitatively different composition of food than his mother's breast can offer. This occurs after the child is one year old.

When deciding to stop breastfeeding, a mother must remember that she is not only a walking milk factory, but also a member of society, a social being, and she needs to perform not only her biological functions (feed her baby), but also engage in her social functions (go out to people work, socialize, study).

She may eventually become ill and require medications that are incompatible with breastfeeding, a possibility that cannot be ignored.

If supporters of breastfeeding up to three years of age want to forget about the social functions of the mother and her personal desires, then this is their business. Breast milk will not harm a two-year-old child, nor a five-year-old. But also great benefits - too.

Komarovsky believes that the mother, who honestly fed the baby for up to a year, can be calm - she fulfilled her biological duty in full. It's time to think about how to wean a child from breastfeeding after a year.

Where to begin?

It's hard to get started, warns Komarovsky. A kid who, at 12-14 months old, knows perfectly well what a delicious mother's tit is, is unlikely to want to give it away without a fight. He will fight like the last time, yelling, throwing tantrums, demanding.

Not every, even a very nervous mother, can withstand such conditions. At some point, she will give up, let you suck a little, and you will have to start all over again. It is impossible to stop lactation of milk while the child irritates the receptors on the nipple.

In order to start an action to wean a child from the breast, you need to be determined and understand that the dependence on breast sucking in crumbs is no longer physiological, but psychological, and without breast milk, he will already live quite normally. Mom and grandmother, as well as other relatives living in the same living space, need to stock up on valerian.

It is best to separate mother and child for a few days, says Yevgeny Komarovsky. Sending a mother to a dacha or a sanatorium for 5-7 days will be enough for the child to learn to do without breast milk. After the mother's return, there may be encroachments of the child to the selected pleasure, but they should be resolutely suppressed. Of course, the child will be unhappy, and may cry. But the mother should not change her mind, otherwise the process of weaning will stretch for months and years and cause a lot of moral suffering to all household members.

If persuasion doesn't work, try ruining the taste of the milk. To do this, according to Komarovsky, it is enough to eat garlic or spread mustard on the nipple.

If a child receives a breast with such a “product” several times, the next time he will think carefully whether to ask her again or do without. Although this method does not work for everyone: some babies really like their mother's "garlic" milk, and the pungent smell does not bother them at all.

The information that for a child the refusal to breastfeed is the strongest stress and trauma for life, according to Yevgeny Komarovsky, has no basis. All these are speculations far from medicine and even psychology, mothers who are fans of breastfeeding up to five years. Stress will be minimal and will be forgotten by the baby very quickly if mom does everything right. This means - quickly, decisively and irrevocably.

The best time

You can finish feeding at any time of the year, says Yevgeny Komarovsky. Winter outside or summer, it doesn't matter. But it is important whether the child is ready for change. There are several situations in which it is better to wait with weaning:

• Baby sickness. If he's bad, it's not a good idea to make things worse.
• Painful teething. If the process is in full swing, it is better to give the usual breast and not injure the already inflamed gums. In addition, breast milk contains a large number of antibodies to various infections, and it has antibacterial properties.
• A change of scenery. If you yourself have to move in a week or two with a child or go on vacation, you should not start weaning. It is better to leave it for later, when the child gets into a familiar environment.

After recovery, after a few days, you can proceed to your plan.

For a very long time, it was believed among the people that it was impossible to stop breastfeeding in the hot season, and at that time it was quite reasonable - after the abolition of breast milk, the incidence of intestinal infections almost always increased. Now is the 21st century, and elementary observance of hygiene standards makes it possible to stop feeding without problems when the mother needs it.

Cessation of lactation

It is quite difficult to stop the production of breast milk, since her psychomotor mechanism is very stable. But nothing is impossible, says Evgeny Olegovich, and if the first stage - weaning - has taken place, and the mother has withstood the persistent child for several days, then it's time to make sure that the milk becomes as small as possible.

To do this, the doctor recommends drinking less fluids. This doesn't mean mom needs to dry herself to death. You just need to observe the drinking regime as it was at the time of the formation of lactation and its maintenance is no longer necessary. In no case should you express milk, even if it so happened that the child fell ill a few days after the start of the action to wean him from the breast. Pumping starts the production mechanism.

Mom Komarovsky strongly advises to go in for active sports - run, do push-ups, pull up, lift the barbell, do anything, just to sweat more. The more sweat, the less breast milk will be produced.

If the above measures do not bring much relief to the woman, you can additionally tighten the chest with sheets. Today, Russian women have access to other methods that are considered more civilized all over the world. They are based on taking drugs that block the ability to lactate at the hormonal and chemical levels.

Such drugs that suppress the production of prolactin include, in particular, "Bromocriptine" or "Dostinex". But it is best to start taking pills after consulting a doctor. A decoction of sage and linden flowers also help, which mom can brew and drink in small portions.

Common Mistakes

Yevgeny Komarovsky believes that a rare mother in the process of weaning a child fails to make any mistakes. The most common misconception is that a baby without a mother's breast will begin to lose immunity. Up to six months, the mother’s baby has innate immunity, then his immune system goes on an independent “swimming”, by the year the protection is getting stronger, and then it will only gain momentum, colliding with microbes and viruses, and developing antibodies against them.

Some mothers begin prophylactically instead of breast milk to give antiviral drugs, immunomodulators and immunostimulants. There is no need for this, Yevgeny Komarovsky assures, especially since the effectiveness of these drugs has not been clinically proven. And the extra "chemistry" is completely useless to the child.

There are mothers who, canceling breastfeeding, transfer the child to whole cow's or goat's milk. Komarovsky believes that it is better to give the baby to drink an adapted mixture labeled from 12 months. It is saturated with trace elements, vitamins, minerals, and is devoid of rather allergenic cow protein.

You will learn more about how to wean a child from breastfeeding in the following video.

It is difficult to fully appreciate the contribution to the health and development of the child that breastfeeding makes. Breast milk is the most useful and valuable component in the diet of a 1-2 year old baby. Many mothers today are very concerned about breastfeeding for as long as possible. Regardless of this desire, there comes a time when a woman, for certain reasons, is faced with the problem of stopping lactation.

Even if the mother has decided on long-term breastfeeding, sooner or later you will still have to think about the end of lactation (we recommend reading:)

Reasons for stopping lactation

The period during which the mother breastfeeds the child depends on the individual characteristics of the female body and can vary within 2.5 years. At this age, the composition of breast milk completely changes. According to endocrinologists, the production of prolactin, the hormone of breast milk, proceeds through natural phases, and at the end of this process, involution occurs, but this scenario is far from always occurring.

There are other options for stopping lactation:

1. Suppression of lactation immediately after the birth of a child. The reason may be medical indications for the mother or for the baby.
2. Self denial. There are various reasons why the baby does not want to suck on his mother's breast. As a result, the transition to ordinary food is inevitable.
3. Weaning a child from the breast at the age of one. By this time, the woman is very tired emotionally and physically, she has a desire to get enough sleep and stop straining her hands when holding an already quite heavy baby for a long time.

Sometimes even mothers of newborns have to stop lactation - most often this is due to medical indications

Ways to stop breast milk production

Breastfeeding isn't just for the baby. The process of natural lactation has a positive effect on the hormonal health of the woman herself, especially if all stages of breastfeeding are normal from a physiological point of view. The natural desire of any mother is to ensure that the cessation of lactation occurs without particularly strong pain. For almost painless suppression of prolactin production, there are a number of specific means and methods: gradual or simultaneous weaning, special herbal preparations, medicines.

Gradual cessation of lactation

The process of breastfeeding is characterized by successive stages, starting with its formation and ending with involution. The natural stop of milk production does not happen instantly. In rare cases, the onset of the extinction of lactation occurs before the child reaches 1 year and 6 months.

To understand that the process of involution has already started, the state of the mammary glands will help. Milk stops coming to the breast, and it remains soft throughout the day.

If the baby is not allowed to breastfeed, the volume of milk will decrease regardless of the needs of the crumbs. This is the best time to wean your baby.

Today, the situation is quite common when a mother is forced to stop breastfeeding even before the onset of involution. How to stop the production of breast milk in this case? If the child is already 9-11 months old, he can be weaned for 2-3 months:

1. every two weeks, reduce the number of feedings by one;
2. by the end of this period, only feeding at night should remain;
3. then you need to give it up, but the baby will still have a sucking reflex - to satisfy it, you can give the baby water, compotes or kefir from a bottle.

This approach to stopping lactation makes the process easier for the mother and for the little one. According to lactation consultants, this method is the most humane.

• during the cold season (since the risk of infection with intestinal viruses and bacteria increases in summer)
• if the baby is healthy and his age is more than 1.5 years.

Mom during the period when she seeks to stop lactation should follow some recommendations:

• reduce the amount of fluid consumed;
• give up hot tea, broth, salty foods and those foods that cause thirst;
• remove fatty meat, smoked and dairy products, butter from the menu;
• in case of pain or discomfort in the mammary glands, decant in small amounts until the unpleasant symptoms stop.

During the period of weaning the crumbs from the breast, it is advisable for the mother to abandon the use of salt and those products in which it is contained in large quantities.

Sudden weaning of the baby

Most women who, for one reason or another, decide to stop breastfeeding, do not have the necessary couple of months in stock - they are interested in how to quickly stop lactation. In such conditions, neither the mother's body nor the child's body is prepared for instant changes.

Sometimes they offer to send the baby to relatives for the time of weaning or by other available means to make sure that he does not see his mother for 3-7 days. However, such measures can lead to great stress for the child, after which the process of weaning will be associated with the risk of losing his mother.

In addition, a sharp suppression of lactation is not only a psychological experience, but a strong physical discomfort. Milk production continues at the same intensity, as a result of which the breast is stretched, painful sensations appear. In some cases, lactostasis or even mastitis may develop. Tightening the breast with an elastic bandage or a tight bra is advised to reduce stretching - however, these methods are not physiological, and can only exacerbate the problem of breast engorgement.

Quick weaning methods are not always helpful. They suggest using:

• compresses and wraps (from camphor oil, cabbage leaf);
• herbal infusions;
• tablets.

Wrap with camphor oil

A popular remedy used by mothers to stop lactation, ideal for home conditions, is wrapping or rubbing the mammary glands. The main component of these procedures is camphor oil. In addition to suppressing lactation, the use of this oil along with a light massage of the breasts, leads to the restoration of the skin in a natural way, and also significantly reduces the risk of hard lumps in the mammary glands.

The wrapping procedure itself is quite simple:

1. it is necessary to soak bandage napkins or napkins made of natural fabrics with camphor oil;
2. attach to each breast, cover with polyethylene, put on underwear, leave for a night's sleep (after feeding the baby in advance).

The disadvantage of camphor oil is a sharp corrosive smell, which is not easy to get rid of. For this reason, the clothes that are used for such a procedure will have to be thrown away in the future.

Camphor oil helps regenerate breast tissue and prevent lumps

Compresses with cabbage leaves

In addition to wrapping, you can resort to other folk methods to quickly stop lactation - applying cold cabbage leaves to the chest with their change every hour throughout the day. According to Jack Newman, a well-known breastfeeding consultant, cabbage is a fairly gentle way to alleviate breast engorgement (to avoid lactostasis). Such compresses help to reduce the production and flow of milk, which means they can suppress lactation.

The use of herbal preparations

Sometimes, to stop lactation, the use of special herbal preparations is fully justified. Such infusions or decoctions can be taken both internally and as a means for rubbing. The most widely used diuretic infusions, these include herbal decoction of sage and mint. Thanks to such a folk remedy, it is possible, albeit not immediately, to independently reduce lactation, and subsequently achieve its complete suppression.

For a more effective action of decoctions of herbs, it is necessary to simultaneously reduce the intake of fluid by the body. A significant reduction in fluid intake helps to naturally reduce the amount of milk and contributes to the complete suppression of prolactin production. Due to this, the intake of herbal infusions gives the desired result.

Minimal harm to the body from herbal preparations is a big plus in their favor. As a precaution, before starting to use them, it is advisable to consult a specialist, since herbal preparations that are used to stop lactation have certain properties:

• diuretic;
• anti-inflammatory;
• sedatives.

Herbal preparations can be a great help for mommy to stop lactation, but they should be used after consulting a doctor.

For example, a collection of lingonberry leaf, horsetail, corn stigma, high elecampane, common basil and common bearberry helps to get rid of excess fluid in the body, which, as you know, helps to suppress lactation. Medicinal sage in combination with mint and belladonna can have an anti-inflammatory effect against the background of a decrease in the amount of milk. Common heather, marsh cudweed herb and valerian officinalis roots are indispensable in stressful situations.

1. Chopped sage leaves - 1 tsp pour 200 ml of boiling water. Infuse for about an hour, then strain. Take 4 times a day, 50 ml 20 minutes before meals.
2. Mint leaves - 5 tsp pour 300 ml of boiling water. Also insist an hour and strain. Drink 100 ml three times a day.
3. Cowberry leaf - 1 tsp pour 200 ml of boiling water, leave for half an hour, drink a third of a glass 3 times a day.

Since ancient times, lingonberry leaf has been used by women during the period of weaning a child from the breast. You can buy it at a pharmacy that sells medicinal herbs.

Naturally, a noticeable effect from all kinds of folk methods at home does not come as instantly as from the use of drugs, but a week after the start of the intake, a woman can feel changes in the amount of milk produced.

The use of medications

May lead to adverse effects on women's health. This method is effective in cases where the mother does not have time to gradually stop lactation: for example, after childbirth, breastfeeding is contraindicated for a woman from a medical point of view or in connection with a return to work.

There are a sufficient number of tablets specifically designed to suppress lactation that can be purchased at a pharmacy, for example, Dostinex, Bromocriptine, Norkolut, etc. When resorting to their help, it is worth remembering:

1. Only a doctor should prescribe pills that will help stop lactation. This precaution helps to avoid side effects from taking inappropriate medications.
2. Hormonal drugs have many contraindications, which must be considered before taking them. It is forbidden to take drugs for hypertension, varicose veins, diabetes mellitus, liver and kidney diseases, etc.
3. The decision to stop lactation should be final, because after taking medication, it is no longer possible to restore the production of prolactin.
4. It is worth taking pills only as a last resort, if there is no other solution to the problem.

Homeopathy can also be considered as an option for lactation suppression. A doctor should prescribe homeopathic remedies. The most common of them are Fitollyaka 6 and Apis 3.

Of course, pills are the fastest way to stop lactation, but ending it gradually naturally is the safest option, although it takes several months. It is also better not to rush to try to abruptly stop breastfeeding, as this can lead to various complications.

How to stop lactation and which method to resort to, it is better to decide together with a gynecologist. This consultation has a number of advantages:

• absence of unpleasant consequences;
• prevention of complications;
• preservation of normal functions of the mammary glands, which is important for the prevention of tumors and breastfeeding without difficulty next time.

The habit does not appear instantly. Take care of the health of your baby, while not forgetting about your own body.