How do I dry up my breast milk supply?
C asked:
Originally, I chose to breastfeed but am unable to continue for medical reasons. Now my breasts are sore and sometimes feel full but I have been told by friends and family not to pump. I have heard that binding or wearing a tight bra helps, but I found that medical professionals advise against this. I also cannot use cabbage leaves because I’m allergic to sulfa. Am I at risk for mastitis? Please do not answer just to tell me that I really should breastfeed; I sure would if I could!
My son (my first child) is only 2 1/2 weeks old. I tried breastfeeding on and off since his birth and finally quit 3 days ago. Thank you!
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Originally, I chose to breastfeed but am unable to continue for medical reasons. Now my breasts are sore and sometimes feel full but I have been told by friends and family not to pump. I have heard that binding or wearing a tight bra helps, but I found that medical professionals advise against this. I also cannot use cabbage leaves because I’m allergic to sulfa. Am I at risk for mastitis? Please do not answer just to tell me that I really should breastfeed; I sure would if I could!
My son (my first child) is only 2 1/2 weeks old. I tried breastfeeding on and off since his birth and finally quit 3 days ago. Thank you!
February 27th, 2009 at 11:33 am
I cured my mastitis almost instantly with a comfrey leaf infusion. I just let my breasts float in a sink filled with the warm infusion. It is the suckling motion that stimulates milk production, not the emptying of the breasts, so you can gently express any excess milk in a warm sink of water by massaging the sides of the breasts gently just until the aching subsides if you avoid the nipple area.
Comfrey leaf infusion was also great for healing and preventing infections on the stitches I had down there after my births— I just put it in a sits bath and let it flow over the open wound until the stinging stopped.
An infusion is basically a really strong herbal tea, and comfrey leaf is completely safe if taken externally. Here is a great resource for natural healing, and the instructions are there for making herbal infusions:
http://susunweed.com/How_to_make_Infusions.htm
March 1st, 2009 at 2:40 am
Wear a good supporting bra and ask your doctor, health professional for further advice. As long as you are not feeding, not expressing or pumping, the demand has gone and your breasts will
recover although this can take a little time. In the past women were advised to take epsom salts but this has gone out of fashion and, depending on your health and medical condition may actually do you more harm than good.
March 2nd, 2009 at 8:42 am
How long have you not been nursing for? A day, a week, a month? You can express just a little bit of milk. Actually, you should express just a little bit of milk so you don’t clog your ducts. Clogged ducts lead to mastitis. Don’t express enough for your body to tell you to produce more, just enough to make it a little more comfortable. The best place to do it is in a hot shower. My lactation consultant told me when my breasts were that sore and painful to massage them in a hot shower. I did and it provided a lot of relief. You can also talk to your doctor about something to stop milk production. It might take a few weeks to a month to slow down/stop production, especially if you are a new mom and your milk has come in.
I also heard you can get a shot from the doctor to dry up your milk! Also, the hospital you gave birth at most likely has a Lactation consultant, maybe give her a call to see what she would recomend to dry up the milk and prevent mastitis!!
I hope this helps!
March 3rd, 2009 at 11:12 pm
it will take a while before it really stops… hot compress (also) will do when you feel sore…
March 7th, 2009 at 11:10 am
I actually exclusively pumped for 2 months. I was going to go back to work so I wanted to diminish my supply. I basically just pumped less and less. I would do every 3 hours at first, but gradually decrease it to every 5 and so on and son. Eventually (after maybe 2 or 3 weeks) I had less and less milk and none of the engorgement or soreness. I guess my experiece was that I didnt just stop cold turkey. If you let your milk diminish gradually, you hopefully wont experience that much discomfort. This is how it was for me, but it could very well be different for you.