Why do I still have milk after one year of quitting breastfeeding?

Because during the breastfeeding period, the mother's breasts have become accustomed to producing breast milk, even if she stops breastfeeding, the breasts will still produce milk. However, for normal women, the amount of milk will gradually decrease about 40 days after weaning, and the secretion of milk will completely stop about half a year after weaning. But some women may find that after one year of abstaining from breastfeeding, their breasts still secrete a certain amount of milk from time to time. Why is that?

1 What happens if the baby still has milk after weaning?

The final stage of the lactation cycle: breast involution.

The involution phase begins about 40 days after mothers stop breastfeeding completely. At this time, the connections between the mammary gland alveolar cells open, allowing chloride and sodium to enter the milk and absorb water. As the concentrations of chloride and sodium in breast milk continue to increase, the concentrations of lactose and potassium will gradually decrease. Therefore, after weaning, some mothers will find the milk they squeezed themselves unpleasant. After the water is continuously absorbed, most of the remaining substance is fat, which appears as white or milky toothpaste, and some are more yellowish.

2 How long does it take for the baby to stop producing milk after weaning?

It varies from person to person. Research statistics show that milk secretion generally stops six months to one year after weaning, but the longer mothers breastfeed, the longer it takes to completely stop milk secretion.

3 Is milk residue harmful to the body?

There is no harm.

Mothers don’t need to worry. Milk, like saliva and blood, is a type of body fluid. The milk remaining in the breasts will gradually be absorbed by our body. As lactation ends and the involution phase begins, the unnecessary lactating cells in the breast are destroyed and the remaining matrix is ​​reconstructed. Fat tissue fills back into our breasts, gradually restoring their fullness.

4. There are other possible causes of long-term milk leakage

Normal physiological phenomenon

There are indeed some women whose children are already in their teens, but they can still express milk and have been doing so for many years. They do not have any other symptoms and all the test results are basically normal. Such women are often seen in clinical practice and should not be considered pathological. They can continue to be observed without special treatment.

Causes of pathological galactorrhea

Some patients with long-term lactation, especially those with spontaneous lactation, secrete more milk without squeezing. This secretion during non-pregnancy and lactation is called galactorrhea or galactorrhea.

There are many causes of galactorrhea: pituitary tumors, hypothalamic lesions, hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism, adrenal cortex hyperfunction, ovarian tumors, oophorectomy, chest surgery, herpes zoster, diabetes, kidney cancer, bronchial cancer, etc. can all cause galactorrhea. Some women who take contraceptives for a long time, or some women who enter menopause, or after taking chlorpromazine, reserpine, remifone, methyldopa and other drugs for a long time, may also cause abnormal milk secretion.

5. In this case, milk leakage should be taken seriously.

Galactorrhea is accompanied by amenorrhea - amenorrhea syndrome.

The main manifestations are bilateral nipple hyperlactosis, cessation of menstruation, atrophy of the ovaries, uterus and external genitalia, increased prolactin levels in the blood, and decreased gonadotropin levels in the urine. It is clinically divided into three types, with the postpartum onset type being the most common. It occurs between the ages of 19 and 35, with scanty menstruation, late menarche, and is often accompanied by neurosis and malnutrition. This type of patients will continue to lactate, suffer from amenorrhea and ovarian shrinkage after delivery. Some people develop the disease after weaning, and this syndrome is induced by long-term breastfeeding. Some people develop the disease unrelated to pregnancy or breastfeeding, which is called the non-postpartum type. Some people are caused by pituitary tumors, which usually occur around the age of 20 and may be accompanied by obesity, hirsutism and precocious puberty. Some people first experience galactorrhea and amenorrhea, and then discover pituitary tumors many years later.