Weaning

and Sabine Schrör, medical journalist Updated on

Nicole Wendler holds a PhD in biology in the field of oncology and immunology. As a medical editor, author and proofreader, she works for various publishers, for whom she presents complex and extensive medical issues in a simple, concise and logical manner.

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Sabine Schrör is a freelance writer for the medical team. She studied business administration and public relations in Cologne. As a freelance editor, she has been at home in a wide variety of industries for more than 15 years. Health is one of her favorite subjects.

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When women start weaning varies from person to person and always depends on their personal situation. Sometimes an illness makes it necessary to wean quickly or it is simply the urgent request of the mother. Read here how to stop breastfeeding properly and avoid complications and whether home remedies such as mint tea can help with weaning.

When to wean?

Whether immediately after the birth, after a few weeks or months, with the introduction of the porridge diet or only after four years - the point in time at which mothers wean varies greatly from woman to woman.

Primary weaning

In what is known as "primary weaning", the term weaning is actually misleading. The aim is to stop the flow of milk or milk that is automatically activated by childbirth. The mother did not breastfeed. Primary weaning is often done at the request of the woman. In other cases there are situational reasons for this:

• stillbirth
• Adoption clearance
• severe drug / alcohol addiction
• HIV or other serious infectious disease
• severe heart, liver, kidney or lung disease
• Long-term use of milk-permeable radioactive / cytostatic drugs
• Baby with galactosemia (an enzyme defect that prevents the child from breaking down the galactose in breast milk)

Secondary weaning

Secondary weaning was usually preceded by a period of breastfeeding with painful or stressful complications that eventually mean breastfeeding:

• Mastitis (inflammation of the breast)
• Abscesses
• failed drug abstinence
• Infant death
• Postpartum psychosis (form of psychosis)

Gradually weaning

Most mothers breastfeed their babies gently and leisurely. Often they start with the first meal after the 5th month and replace a milk meal with it. However, breastfeeding continues as required. With gradual weaning, further breastfeeding units gradually fall away and are replaced by solid food. The period in which this happens is determined by the mother and child. It can therefore take a very different amount of time until weaning is complete.

Late weaning

The WHO recommends supplementary breastfeeding for children up to the age of two and then weaning. But even after these two years, many mothers enjoy the close bond and do not want to tell the child when it is time to wean completely. Then the child may already be a few years old.

How does weaning work best?

Weaning works in a naturally conservative way or - if there is a medical need - also with medication.

Weaning: Staying emotionally and physically connected

No matter whether slowly or quickly, naturally or with medical support - when weaning you should always bear in mind that breastfeeding for the child means not only eating, but also physical closeness and emotional connection. Do not reduce these with weaning, but replace them with other rituals such as cuddling, caressing, baby massage or reading aloud.

Weaning, of course

If you naturally want to stop breastfeeding, introduce the first meal from the 5th month at the earliest and from the 7th month at the latest. This is important because your child will soon need more energy and will no longer be able to completely cover their nutritional needs with milk.

A breastfeeding meal is now no longer necessary thanks to the mashed diet, and you can continue to breastfeed as required. If your child likes solid food, you can gradually replace other meals.

For many children of this age, solid foods are interesting and weaning is easy, as these children practically wean themselves. Others do not want to give up the breast and the closeness associated with it at all. Then don't put any pressure on yourself or your child. Gentle weaning is based on the needs of mother AND child. It also has the advantage that the amount of milk is reduced slowly and usually completely without complications.

Weaning after three months

Women who want to or have to wean less than three months after giving birth cannot yet switch to formula food. Only bottle feeding in the form of powdered milk comes into question here. You should be particularly careful with this early weaning. In particular, four to six weeks after the birth, the prolactin levels are still very high and (secondary) weaning is usually difficult. If the prolactin level falls too quickly, this affects the psyche and creates unnecessary problems (postpartum depression, feelings of loss).

Quick weaning - with medication

Doctors can help with so-called prolactin inhibitors (dopamine agonists) such as cabergoline if weaning should or must be done quickly. Bromocriptine also belongs to this group of active substances. However, according to the recommendation of the European Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC), this should not be routinely used for weaning.

Prolactin inhibitors slow down the hormone prolactin, which is responsible for milk production. If the medication is only taken for a short time (around ten days), the milk flow can start again after it is stopped (rebound effect). The baby may be breast-fed while taking the prolactin inhibitor. The medication is better tolerated in the first three weeks after the birth. Thereafter, the use is often associated with side effects and is not undisputed. In this case, it is advisable to stop breastfeeding conservatively.

Quick weaning - without medication

If you want it to go quickly but without medication, you can try replacing a breastfeeding meal every two to three days, depending on the age of the child, either with porridge or a milk meal.

However, that sounds easier than done: Children who have never been given a bottle while breastfeeding may first loudly refuse to use the silicone teat. In addition, the rapid loss of breasts can be traumatic for some children and the process can be stressful for mother and child alike.

When weaning quickly, it is therefore particularly important to stay in contact physically and emotionally in other ways. In addition, weaning quickly is a challenge for the breast tissue - complications often occur: You should definitely take pain, redness or even fever seriously!

Weaning after long-term breastfeeding

In some cultures it is perfectly normal for children to be breastfed for longer - sometimes up to five years. The WHO recommends supplementary breastfeeding up to the age of two. The child is given solid food, but on certain occasions (to calm down, when falling asleep) it is still allowed to touch the breast. With many long-term nursing mothers, the child then usually decides when it no longer wants to breastfeed. In some cases this can take a few years.

Mothers who find it too much at some point can try to explain the reason for weaning older children. As at any other point in time, empathy, calm and patience are required here. It will take the child a while to give up the ritual they have come to love.

Weaning Correctly: Tips and Tricks

Caution should be exercised if chest pain occurs while weaning. As at the beginning of breastfeeding, the breast with its glands and the surrounding tissue are also heavily stressed when weaning. Breast inflammation (mastitis) can also follow a milk blockage. The following tips will help you with weaning:

• Tea: Two to three cups of sage or mint tea a day while you are weaning
• Sage tea (cold) is also suitable for compresses: place on the chest for around 20 minutes several times a day
• Cool with white cabbage leaves, quark toppings or cold water
• tight, well-fitting bra. Do not tie your breasts high, this method is not recommended today
• Reduce the amount you drink, but not less than a liter a day!
• If you feel tight, only gently rub the breast, do not empty it completely or express it

Incidentally, babies often find it easier to wean if the feeding (whether bottled milk or porridge) is not done by the mother, but by another caregiver - a good opportunity for the partner to deepen the bond with the child!

Weaning: how long does it take?

In the best case scenario, weaning can take several months. In this way, mother and child can gradually get used to the impending end of breastfeeding. So as soon as you start skipping a breastfeeding meal, it may still take some time before you are completely weaned. Many mothers maintain night-time breastfeeding or an evening meal for a few months or even years.

Even when weaning quickly, it can take a while. If the last breastfeeding meal is canceled, the breast needs a few more weeks until it is completely milk-free. In this early phase, certain triggers can disrupt the weaning process, so you may have to help with cooling again.

If you regret weaning - for whatever reason - you can reverse the process during this time (relactation). However, the support of an experienced midwife is helpful for this.

About four weeks after the last breastfeeding, your breast should be milk-free and weaning is done - at least until the next pregnancy.

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