Home remedies and techniques for drying breast milk

There are several reasons why a woman wants to dry up breast milk production, but the most common is when the baby is over 2 years old and can feed most solid foods, no longer needing to be breastfed.

However, there are also some health problems that can prevent the mother from breastfeeding, so drying the milk can be a way to bring more comfort to the mother, both physically and psychologically.

Still, it is important to remember that the process of drying milk varies greatly from one woman to another, as it depends on some factors such as the baby's age and the amount of milk that is produced. For these reasons, many women can dry their milk in a few days, while others may take several months to achieve the same results.

7 natural strategies for drying milk

While not 100% effective for all women, these natural strategies help to greatly reduce breast milk production in a few days:

Do not offer the breast to the child and do not give in if the child still shows interest in breastfeeding. The ideal is to distract the baby or child in the moments when he was used to breastfeeding. At this stage, he should also not be too much on his mother's lap because the smell of the mother and her milk will attract his attention, increasing the chances of him wanting to breastfeed; Withdraw a small amount of milk during the warm bath, just to relieve discomfort and whenever your breasts feel very full. Milk production will gradually decrease, naturally, but if the woman still produces a lot of milk, this process can take more than 10 days, but when the woman no longer produces much milk, it can last up to 5 days; Putting cold or warm cabbage leaves (depending on the woman's comfort) will help to support the breasts full of milk for longer; Tie a bandage, as if it were a top, holding the breasts, which will prevent them from getting full of milk, but being careful not to impair their breathing. This should be done for about 7 to 10 days, or for a shorter time, if the milk dries beforehand. You can also use a tight top or bra that holds the entire breast; Drink less water and other liquids because they are essential in milk production, and with their restriction, production naturally decreases; Place cold compresses on the breasts, but wrapped in a diaper or napkin to avoid burning the skin. This should only be done after removing some of the milk during the bath. Practice intense physical activity because with the increase in caloric expenditure, the body will have less energy to produce milk.

In addition, to dry the production of breast milk, the woman can also consult the obstetrician or a gynecologist to start using a medication to dry the milk. Generally, women who are taking this type of medicine and performing natural techniques have faster and more effective results.

Remedies to dry breast milk

Medicines to dry breast milk, such as cabergoline, should be used only under the guidance of the obstetrician or a gynecologist, as they must be adapted to each woman. In addition, these medications can also have strong side effects such as headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, abdominal pain, drowsiness and infarction, and therefore should only be used when it is really necessary to dry the milk immediately.

Some situations where this is indicated are when the mother goes through a situation of fetal or neonatal death, the baby has some malformation in the face and digestive system or when the mother has a serious illness that can pass to the baby through breast milk.

When the woman is in good health and also the baby, these remedies should not be indicated, just for the desire to not breastfeed or to stop breastfeeding faster, because there are other strategies, natural and less risky, that are also sufficient to inhibit production of breast milk.

When it is recommended to dry the milk

The WHO encourages all healthy women to exclusively breastfeed their babies for up to 6 months, and then continue to breastfeed until 2 years of age. But there are some situations where breastfeeding is contraindicated, so it may be necessary to dry the milk, such as:

Maternal Causes	Baby Causes
HIV +	Low weight with immaturity to suck or swallow milk
Breast cancer	Galactosemia
Disorders of consciousness or risky behavior	Phenylketonuria
Use of illicit drugs such as marijuana, LSD, heroin, cocaine, opium	Malformation of the face, esophagus or trachea that prevents oral feeding
Diseases caused by viruses, fungi or bacteria such as cytomegalovirus, Hepatitis B or C with high viral load (stop temporarily)	Newborn with severe neurological disease with difficulty feeding through mouth
Active herpes on the breast or nipple (stop temporarily)

In all these cases, the baby should not breastfeed, but can be fed with adapted milk. In the case of viral, fungal or bacterial diseases in the mother, this restriction can be made only while she is ill, but to maintain her milk production, milk must be withdrawn with a breast pump or with manual milking so that she can resume breastfeeding after being cured and having been released by the doctor.