What should I do if my milk becomes swollen during the weaning period?

After the baby is born, it needs breastfeeding. Breast milk is the best food for the baby. However, as the baby grows older, some women may not have enough breast milk. Some women cannot breastfeed for other reasons, such as going to work or being sick. At this time, the baby needs to be weaned. During weaning, the milk will swell. What should I do if the milk swells during the weaning period?

Can I express the milk during the weaning period?

When your breasts are very swollen, use a breast pump to extract some of the milk, which will relieve the pain. And you don’t have to worry about not being able to wean your baby after using a breast pump. Because a breast pump does not suck milk thoroughly, milk secretion will gradually decrease.

What to do if milk swells during weaning?

1. Gradually reduce the number of breastfeeding times: The best way to reduce milk engorgement is to gradually reduce the number of breastfeeding times. By reducing the number of times gradually, the amount of milk will naturally decrease, thus achieving the effect of weaning. If you wean suddenly, milk engorgement will definitely be very serious.

2. Massage: After applying hot compress to the breasts, you can massage the breasts. There are many ways to massage the breasts. Generally, hold one breast with both hands and massage alternately from the bottom of the breast to the nipple. If there is still milk leaking, you can squeeze the milk into a container.

3. Soak your breasts in warm water: Place a basin of warm water on your knees, bend your upper body to your knees, soak your breasts in the basin, and gently shake your breasts. Gravity will allow the milk to flow out more easily.

How long does it take to wean off milk?

Normally, breastfeeding will stop in about a week. Nowadays, major hospitals no longer recommend mothers to take milk-reducing drugs or injections to reduce milk production, but advocate "natural milk-reducing" as the main method. Generally speaking, it takes a mother several days to a week to completely stop producing milk.

Weaning is a gradual process. During the process of weaning, some mothers do not drink soup and blindly adopt the so-called "quick weaning method", or even use a towel to strangle their breasts and seal their nipples with tape. Doing so obviously goes against physiological laws and can easily cause breast pain. Therefore, it is necessary to stop breastfeeding scientifically. In addition, weaning is not just a matter between mother and baby. Dad also plays a key role in this process. For example, before weaning, the dad or family member will coax the baby to sleep while the mom stays away for a while, and then try to encourage the baby to drink more milk, etc.