How to Stop Breastfeeding: A Gentle Guide For Mothers

Breastfeeding is a very vital part of the baby’s nutritional and emotional support system, especially in the early months. But as your baby grows, the question arises: How and when should I stop breastfeeding? Whether it’s after six months, one year, or even later, the weaning process should be handled gently — for your baby’s comfort and well-being.

It is highly recommended that the baby be kept with its mother and immediately subjected to breastfeeding. It works wonders in the long run for the overall development of the baby. Although the benefits of breastfeeding are immense, we will shed light on how to stop breastfeeding in this post.

Most of us wonder how to stop breastfeeding the baby after some months of childbirth. For some mothers, it can be after six months and for others, one year can be the perfect time to stop. Even some may consider continuing even after one year of childbirth.

However, certain factors can help in deciding how to stop breastfeeding sequentially and methodically. The sequence of the ways can be:

Slow down the breastfeeding process gradually

Many factors necessitate the urgency for the mother to focus on how to stop breastfeeding abruptly. But, doing so is not advisable, as it may have complications for the baby as well as for the mother.

The baby may feel very awkward and uncomfortable with this sudden denial of his due share of the feed. It can have a very negative impact on the baby, especially on his physical health. All the vital nutrients will be missed, even though the mother may provide the baby with the best formula milk.

From the mother’s side too, the impact of giving up breastfeeding suddenly any day can impact her health. The continuous amount of milk produced in the breast, if not emptied regularly, can result in discomfort or pain in the breasts, as is already known. The mother’s body, too, needs to adjust to the sudden change in the feeding pattern, wherein she does not produce the expected amount of milk for the baby due to skipping breastfeeding sessions.

The ideal approach is to gradually reduce the sessions until they are stopped completely. The mother may choose to skip the session in which she finds the baby is least interested or does not show interest. This will require some time to find out that particular time when the baby consumes less milk or shows reluctance to take it.

However, this pattern of skipping sessions needs to persist for some time until the next least important session is skipped too, soon after. This way, the baby will adjust to the change in the feeding pattern, but it won’t feel the gap. This is how to stop breastfeeding gradually by increasing and repeating the missed sessions. However, two of the most important sessions for the baby—the first session in the mornings and the one before bedtime—must be the ones that are kept active till the end of breastfeeding.

Make sure to compensate adequately

The missed sessions of breastfeeding must be appropriately filled with other supplements like formula milk. The reason is that you don’t want the baby to miss out on the vital nutrients essential for the body. For the same reason, just mix the missed breastfeeding sessions with the bottle feeding that contains formula milk.

This would ensure that the baby does not feel that it is being denied the feed and also takes care that at least one session is missed. This is one of the ways how to stop breastfeeding in the long run while compensating for the loss of the baby’s feed adequately.

However, care has to be taken that babies who are less than one year old should not be given cow or soya milk. The reason is that these contain too many minerals, proteins and other nutrients which are too harsh for the baby. On the other hand, these lack vital components like iron, vitamin C and other beneficial nutrients that the mother’s milk adequately provides.

Cow or soy milk can affect the kidneys of the baby directly, or the baby may not be able to digest it properly. This may result in intestinal bleeding or diarrhea. Cow’s milk may affect the stomach and intestinal lining too, resulting in the loss of blood through stools, which can cause iron deficiency and anemia in the baby. Therefore, one must replace the cow’s milk only after the baby turns one year old.

Experiment with the alternate feeding routine

Mothers who want to know how to stop breastfeeding should keep in mind that they need to continuously experiment with alternate feeding sessions. Since there is no 100% successful formula for stopping breastfeeding totally, one needs to find ways and appropriate mechanisms for it. The baby can resist bottle-feeding from the mother too, and thus they need to be administered formula milk through some other means.

One has to see whether the baby takes the alternate feeding from someone else, like a father, grandmother, or any other lady. If there is no one to do that, see to it that the normal routine of alternate feeding is discouraged.

This can be done by feeding the baby in another room or some other position or by playing different songs or music. This way, the baby can be tricked into at least accepting the bottle feeding, just for one session in the day.

Always be wary of the baby’s emotional needs

Since the baby is mentally and emotionally attached to the mother, care has to be taken so that while administering the alternate feeds, the baby does not feel neglected. This simply means that the baby needs to be kept well within the mother’s vicinity to make up for the loss during the alternate feeding while the baby is away from her.

An extra cuddle, gestures and singing the lullaby and a pat on the back will go a long way in assuring the baby that it is safe and taken care of. Taking the name of the baby several times in the day will make it feel closer to the mother.

Playing more games, peek-a-boo, and making sounds and whistles will adequately compensate for the loss of time during which the baby was away and bottle-fed. This is how to stop breastfeeding while being extra caring and attached to the baby.

Rely on Baby’s mood and desire too

The mother does not need to stick to a strict schedule for breastfeeding the baby. For those mothers who wonder when and how to stop breastfeeding, let us tell you that going with the flow also helps, like adhering to the baby’s moods. Being regular and as per the schedule is a good thing, but at times this cycle needs to be broken as well. The baby gets regular feeds and its needs are met through a fixed schedule is good, but after some time, the baby also needs a break.

A tried and trusted trick is to be neutral to the needs of the baby whenever you ponder how to stop breastfeeding. In this case, just feed the baby when it demands it and stop when it doesn’t want it anymore at that time, without insisting on continuing even once.

Let the baby be the deciding factor itself, to help in stopping breastfeeding, or ‘weaning’ as it is called. Here, the baby is to be given the authority to decide the feeding sessions, which will help a lot of mothers who are in a fix as to how to stop breastfeeding.

Finally, read the approval signs from the baby to stop altogether

With time, the baby hints to the mother about stopping breastfeeding. After it crosses six months, when the baby starts to provide feedback that it is ready to switch to other foods, formula milk, or other supplements like semi-solid foods, the mother should get hints that it is probably the right time to stop. Some signs from the baby that can serve as positive signs, vis-à-vis how to stop breastfeeding, can be

Remember- Weaning doesn’t happen overnight — it’s a journey. Every mother and baby pair is unique, so listen to your instincts and your baby’s cues. Be patient, be gentle, and remember: there’s no single “perfect” way to stop breastfeeding. But, going by the natural way without pressurizing yourself or the baby, you can ultimately achieve the desired result and your quest on how to stop breastfeeding would certainly end.

FAQs regarding how to stop breastfeeding