Before the blogger hiatus and my own vacation I had started talking about weaning. There are several ways and methods used for weaning and for today and tomorrow, we’ll just address the issues surrounding abrupt weaning.
Very few moms I know use this method. Even moms who decide to be done at a certain age generally don’t abruptly wean but rather build up to it so that they’re done by the time they want to be done. Abrupt weaning is actually quite harsh and is not really good for either mother or baby–even an older baby who is on solids. For the purposes of this blog we will define abrupt weaning as drastically dropping the amount of nursing sessions so as to stop lactation.
Why Moms Abruptly Wean
Generally, moms abruptly wean because of external circumstances. It simply can’t be helped. One mother was sharing in the forums that she had to wean one of her children due to an illness in the family. I personally have weaned one of my children very abruptly during my pregnancy with the twins–as soon as I found out I was having twins I knew she had to be done nursing. I knew that I could not feed three babies and I also knew that twins are at an increased risk of premature birth and breastfeeding during a twin pregnancy is simply not recommended. Another mother I know contracted bacterial meningitis and had to stop breastfeeding cold turkey.
Consequences for the Baby
Just because you can’t help weaning abruptly, doesn’t mean that there aren’t negative side effects for the baby. I have to say here, that I don’t think moms should feel guilty over abruptly weaning. However, I think it’s important to recognize that nursing plays a significant role in a baby’s life that goes well beyond just nutrition. Some behaviors that you might see from your baby if you have to abruptly wean are:
*Thumb sucking or increased pacifier use (Babies need to suck and if they are not suckling at the breast, they will suck on something else. This is an instinctive need.)
*Acting out. You should expect your child (even as young as 6 months) to ‘act out’ or become increasingly fussy. A significant source of comfort has been taken away and they may feel the need to gain your attention by other means. Also, if you’ve stopped nursing an infant it may take awhile to adjust to taking in formula.
Check back tomorrow for consequences for the mom when she abruptly weans as well as tips to make the transition go more smoothly for everyone involved.