This may come as a surprise, but as a lactation consultant, my job isn’t to tell you that you should breastfeed for X number of months or years. My job is to help you meet your breastfeeding goals, what ever they are. So if you need help with stopping breastfeeding, I can do that!
All respected health organizations recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months and then breastfeeding alongside solids. The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding for at least 2 years, the RCPCH (in the UK) recommends breastfeeding for around a year. It is commonly accepted that if a child is left to self-wean, the average age is somewhere between 2.5 and 6 years of age. This may be true for some cultures around the world, and certainly in some parts of the world, it is commonplace to see older children breastfeeding. However, breastfeeding beyond infancy is still seen as a bit “odd” in the West. Whether we like it or not, our cultural values and expectations will also play a part in what we feel comfortable with, when it comes to breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding does continue to provide benefits to your child beyond infancy. Breastmilk doesn’t suddenly lose it’s nutritional value at six months or a year, and can be a valuable nutritional boost to fussy toddlers. Breastmilk also continues to provide immune support to your child, as their immune system isn’t fully mature until close to school age. Additionally, breastfeeding provides comfort, connection and for many, a sure fire way to get them to sleep easily.
While breastfeeding never really loses its value, there is an element of diminishing marginal returns. Basically, breastfeeding is massively important for young babies, still confers some benefit as they get older, and this benefit lessens over time. After all, every mammal weans their babies eventually. Is is the way nature intends for life to happen. Eventually, solids take over from milk, children develop a robust immune system of their own, they can be comforted with cuddles and words, and they fall asleep independently.
You maybe appreciate that there is still value to breastfeeding, but at the same time, there may be many reasons why you want (or need) to stop. Part of the process of stopping breastfeeding is weighing up both sides and deciding when you are ready. Therefore, my short answer to the question “When should I stop breastfeeding?” is whenever you are ready! This could be six weeks, 6 months, 2 years or older. And if you need it, there is help.
Google “stopping breastfeeding” and you’ll find dozens of great pages on how to stop breastfeeding. Even Chat GPT can tell you! It sounds simple, doesn’t it? Gradually reduce breastfeeding by one feed a day until you’re finished. Except… it’s not always so simple.
Breastfeeding is more than just nutrition, it’s a relationship. Fundamentally, when you stop breastfeeding, your relationship with your child needs to change. If breastfeeding has been providing nutrition, comfort, connection, a sleep association, you need to find good substitutes. This is especially true if your child has a strong attachment to breastfeeding and really doesn’t want to stop!
That is why I created my comprehensive webinars on stopping breastfeeding. We cover the practical aspects of stopping breastfeeding, including looking after yourself so you don’t get blocked ducts or mastitis. The most important aspect of these webinars are the tools and skills you’ll gain to parent without breastfeeding. We take a deep dive into:
Price: £17
In this webinar we’ll look at:
Early bird price £25 until the 10th May, then price is £40
17th May, 10:30 am – 12:30 pm
Bring your individual questions and receive personalized solutions to this interactive workshop.
Additionally we’ll cover:
Price: £95
If you want some personalized support, then book a one hour consultation to discuss stopping breastfeeding – no matter what age your child is.
We can address your individual concerns and come up with a personalized plan to tackle the issues you’re having. We can look at:
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