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Question
Do you know why its bad to just stop cold turkey while breastfeeding??
Dear Jessica,
Mostly it's good to avoid stopping cold turkey if you can because IT HURTS! If you have had an ample supply of milk and suddenly the milk isn't being taken out of your breasts by baby or pump, your breasts are likely to become engorged -- full and hard and tender.
Sometimes women have to stop breastfeeding suddenly, and I'm including an excerpt from my book (see below) on how to make the process as painless as possible. But if you have a choice, it's best to wean gradually, cutting out one feeding at a time for several days, starting with the feeding your baby is least interested in.
Good luck!
Sally
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Sally Wendkos Olds
Author, THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING: Eiger & Olds, 3rd edition 1999, published by Workman Publishing & Bantam Books, and available in most public libraries, bookstores & La Leche League chapters. Now in revision for a fourth edition, with Laura M. Marks, M.D.
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If you wean slowly, you should have little or no discomfort from milk pressure. You'll gradually produce less and less milk until there's virtually none at all to speak of. If at any point during weaning, your breasts become overfull, you can express just enough milk to ease your discomfort, or you can put your child to the breast for a minute or two (if she's willing to stop at that). Don't overdo it or you'll just encourage your breasts to continue producing copious amounts of milk. If you're uncomfortably full most of the time, slow down the pace of weaning.
If you have to wean suddenly, you are likely to be quite uncomfortable for several days unless you're producing very little milk. You can hasten the drying-up process and minimize discomfort in a few ways. You'll want to wear a firm, but not too tight, bra, perhaps in a size larger than the one you usually wear. You can also relieve discomfort by expressing just enough milk to ease the pressure on your breasts. And you may also get relief from icepacks applied to the breasts several times a day. Ask your doctor to prescribe a pain-reliever, which can be relatively strong, since you don't have to worry about the medication reaching your child.
Two once popular remedies are no longer recommended. One, binding your breasts, can actually make you feel worse and cause a plugged duct besides. And medicine to dry up your milk usually didn't work and often had unpleasant side effects; it has been taken off the market for this purpose.
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Answers by Expert:
Sally Wendkos Olds
Expertise
What do you want to know about breastfeeding? I can tell you what`s good for the baby, what`s good for the mother -- and the father, how it`s related to a woman`s sexuality, how working moms can nurse, how to overcome obstacles, and lots more. As the author of THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING and author or coauthor of 8 other books and more than 200 articles about child and adult development, I can offer sound, sensible advice on breastfeeding, child care and family issues.
Experience
I nursed my 3 daughters and am the grandmother of 5 breastfed children. My book THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING (written in consultation with pediatrician Marvin S. Eiger, M.D.) was first published in 1972, and in 1999 came out in an updated 3rd Edition by Workman Publishing & Bantam Books. It is now a classic, with over 2 million copies in print. I am now revising this book for a fourth edition, consulting with pediatrician Laura M. Marks, M.D. This new edition will be published September 2009. I welcome any and all suggestions for the new edition. I coauthored college textbooks A CHILD'S WORLD: INFANCY THROUGH ADOLESCENCE, and HUMAN DEVELOPMENT; both are leading texts in their fields and have been read by 2 million students. I am the coauthor of HELPING YOUR CHILD FIND VALUES TO LIVE BY and RAISING A HYPERACTIVE CHILD, and author of THE WORKING PARENTS' SURVIVAL GUIDE & THE ETERNAL GARDEN: SEASONS OF OUR SEXUALITY. My newest book, A BALCONY IN NEPAL: GLIMPSES OF A HIMALAYAN VILLAGE, published in 2002, tells the story of the way of life in a remote village in Nepal, where all the women breastfeed! My book, SUPER GRANNY: COOL PROJECTS, ACTIVITIES, AND OTHER GREAT STUFF TO DO WITH YOUR GRANDKIDS, will be published March 2009. I speak often to professional, parent and general audiences and make many radio and TV appearances.
Credentials I received my B.A. in English Literature from the University of Pennsylvania, where I minored in Psychology, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated summa cum laude.
Other points of interest
I have received national awards for my writing, and am a former president of the American Society of Journalists & Authors. I am listed in the World Who's Who of Women, International Authors & Writers Who's Who, and Contemporary Authors, and am a member of several professional and civic organizations. I believe: that all parents are working parents; that parents employed outside the home need special support; that mothers' well-being is crucial to their children's welfare; and that the family is the best institution in the world and the one for which we are least prepared. My thrills come when parents or kids tell me they were helped by my writing or speaking or just understanding.
To find out more about me, go to
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