If you want to know how to stop breastfeeding, rest assured, BellyBelly respects that the decision to stop is a personal one for you and you alone.

Some mothers have an idea, from very early on, about when they’d like to stop breastfeeding; for others, the decision becomes clearer with time. These situations could be referred to as ‘mother-led weaning’.

For other mothers, the weaning process occurs naturally, over time, without making a decision to stop. In this situation, the process of stopping breastfeeding can be referred to as ‘baby-led weaning’.

This article focuses on mother-led weaning.

How to stop breastfeeding

The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a baby’s life. This is due to the health benefits breastfeeding offers a mother and baby.

You can read more about this in BellyBelly’s article 5 Benefits Of Breastfeeding For Baby and Mother.

In Australia, research shows that only 15% of babies are still exclusively breastfed at 5 months of age. This could be due to breastfeeding difficulties, pressure from family members to introduce formula milk, or because a baby has begun to eat solid foods.

Whatever the reason to start weaning, children wean at different ages depending on their individual circumstances.

6 steps to stop breastfeeding

If you want to know how to stop breastfeeding, here are 6 steps to take:

#1. Make sure you really want to stop breastfeeding

If you’ve decided to stop breastfeeding and feel happy about the decision, that’s great. Skip to the next step. For some mothers, though, the decision to stop breastfeeding is not because they want to but rather because they feel they need to. It could be because they have started taking a medication they’ve been told is incompatible with breastfeeding. The truth is that most medications can be taken safely when breastfeeding. Therefore, it’s worthwhile getting a second opinion from another health professional.

Other breastfeeding mothers might be returning to work and have been told they have to wean because of this, but lots of mothers return to work and continue to breastfeed.

For more information, see BellyBelly’s article Returning To Work And Breastfeeding – 7 Important Tips To Help .

#2. Decide how long you want the weaning process to take

If you determine how long you have to stop breastfeeding, it will help you work out a plan to suit you best. One plan focuses on stopping breastfeeding quickly; another describes a gradual process, which helps to minimize the risk of blocked ducts and mastitis.

#3. Reduce milk production

Reducing the number of milk removal sessions (whether they are pumping sessions or direct breastfeeding) will reduce your breast milk supply. The less milk that is removed from your body, the less your body produces.

How quickly this is done will depend on how quickly you want or need to stop breastfeeding.

#4. Monitor your breasts for blockages

As you stop breastfeeding, be sure to monitor your breasts for blocked ducts.

If you discover one, check out BellyBelly articles Blocked Milk Duct – Symptoms And Treatments and Mastitis |Causes, Symptoms And Treatments Of Mastitis for management strategies.

Even if the end goal is to stop breastfeeding, if a blocked duct or mastitis develops this goal will need to be postponed temporarily and you will have to continue to remove breast milk to help get rid of the blockage. This is important because if a blocked duct isn’t managed well, then mastitis can result. If mastitis isn’t managed wel,l you could become unwell and a breast abscess might arise.

You can read more about this in BellyBelly’s article Breast Abscess And Breastfeeding – 4 Questions Answered.

#5. Speak with your doctor about medications that might help the process

There are certain medications (e.g. pseudoephedrine and some forms of hormonal contraception) that some mothers find helpful to reduce their supply of breast milk.

It is always important to discuss the use of such medications with your doctor.

#6. Your breast milk supply will dry up… eventually

The length of time it takes for your breasts to stop making milk varies greatly, depending on your baby’s age, whether you were exclusively breastfeeding or mixing breast and bottle feeding, and whether your baby has started solid foods.

For some breastfeeding mothers, the weaning process could take days to weeks; for other women, it could take months. Some mothers find they can hand express breast milk long after their final breastfeeding session.

How to stop breastfeeding quickly

If you need to know how to stop breastfeeding quickly, you could follow the following 4 steps:

#1. Cease milk removal sessions

Ceasing all milk removal sessions (whether by expressing or direct breastfeeding) will send the message to your breasts to slow down the rate at which they produce milk. Depending on how much milk your breasts are making before you do this, they could start to feel quite full and uncomfortable before too long.

#2. Employ strategies to reduce pain

If you stop breastfeeding quickly, it’s likely that your breasts will start to feel uncomfortably full before long. To help minimize the discomfort, you can use ice packs, avoid any tight clothing and speak with a pharmacist or doctor about the use of anti-inflammatory medication.

#3. Monitor your breasts for blockages

When stopping breastfeeding ‘cold turkey’, it is important to monitor your breasts for clogged ducts. Treating clogged ducts early helps minimize the risk of mastitis.

#4. Express for comfort only

If the above strategies don’t help enough, you can use a breast pump to express enough milk to help make your breasts feel more comfortable. Remember, though, the more milk you remove from your breasts, the more milk they make. The aim in doing this is to express only excess milk and not to drain the breast fully.

How to stop breastfeeding without getting mastitis

Some mothers are concerned about how to stop breastfeeding without getting mastitis.

If you have the time to stop breastfeeding gradually, this can help to minimize the discomfort felt and also minimize the risk of getting mastitis. This is because using this approach means your breasts won’t get as full and won’t be left as full for as long.

During this process of stopping breastfeeding, rather than ceasing milk removal sessions all at once, you drop sessions gradually. There are various ways to do it.

A common way would be to drop one breastfeed per day and, before dropping another one, wait until your breasts no longer feel uncomfortable as a result. There could be a couple of days or so in between dropping each breastfeeding session. It’s a good idea to try not to drop consecutive sessions but rather sessions that are spread out from each other.

For further information, here’s a list BellyBelly articles with more information about how to stop breastfeeding: