Dr. Neetu Talwar, Senior Consultant Fortis Memorial Research Institute in Gurgaon, joins us and answers worried mommies about their breastfeeding concerns. Thank you Dr. Talwar for your support to the New Moms Club.
Honny – Hello doctor. My daughter is 21 months old now and from the very first day she is on breastfeed. I want to know what is the right time to quit breastfeed.
The right time to quit is now! As I have said repeatedly – your milk is no more sufficient for your baby and to ensure that she gets proper nutrients, you have to get her off breast milk so she can consume more nutritious food.
Kavneet – Hi Doctor. My b-g twins are 7 months, and were asked to be supplemented by ff. I used to have good supply earlier, but had to start pumping when they were around 25 days as my daughter stopped latching. I used to pump as much as i could every 3-4 hours. These days they have again started latching but only when they are sleeping, hence i cant pump at night.I am finding my supply dropping during the day as I can’t pump out more.. I really want to reduce their formula intake, am taking daliya, oats in my diet and also take lactare tablets twice a day. Please suggest ways to increase.
Kavneet, whenever a mother is blessed with twins we always advise them to feed the babies together, using a specific position called ‘dancer’s position.’ So what you need to do is hold the babies, each in one hand, holding the heads in your palms and the body resting in your arms. Take your arms behind so that they are suckling at your breasts simultaneously.
Otherwise you will end up feeding the baby throughout the day and will be completely exhausted, which will eventually make you want to quit breastfeeding, and that is completely understandable in such situations. You can also go see a good pediatrician or a breastfeeding counselor to explain you this position well. Believe me this will make things much easier. After this, any inadequacies can be made up for by top feed. Apart from this, you are doing absolutely fine by giving them oats etc.
Kanika – My son is 2.10 yrs. Old n he still takes breastfeed, I am unable to stop him, have tried many things, pls suggest something
Kanika, please do not lie down with the baby. Even if you apply any bitter stuff on your nipples, the baby will keep on feeding from you if you are lying down next to him. Just avoid lying down next to him for just two nights- that’s all it takes for them to get used to not being breastfed.
Garima – How frequent does one need to breastfeed a 10 month old? I am a working mom, I breastfeed my baby once in the morning and twice or thrice after returning home. He is taking solids well.
I think you are doing fine, Garima. Just that you should stop giving night feeds because it is no longer required. and you also need to rest because you are working. As long as the baby is gaining weight and height, everything is fine.
Ritu – Hi doctor , I got a 1.5 month old baby.. He never seems to be satisfied after bf.. N I drop on milk supply aftr I keep feeding him .. What to do. Tia
Most of the babies finish off their feeding sessions in 30 to 40 minutes and if they continue for longer it’s only for their emotional security and to make sure their mothers don’t leave them. So after about 30-40 minutes if the baby still keeps on feeding, you should gently insert your finger in his mouth and gently de-latch yourself so that you don’t get bruises. But after that you can keep on hugging the baby and sleeping with him otherwise he will wake up and demand more feed.
Ankita – Hello Doctor, my daughter is 21 months old and takes feed to sleep just for five minutes. Want her to drop this habit of her. Please help.
Ankita, you need to stop feeding your baby now. Try avoiding lying down next to her for a while.
Nikita- My daughter is 20 months old, I stopped feeding her a month back bt I still feel milk pumping out and sometimes its very painful, so can u please tell me how long I will face this issue?
This can take some time, may be two to four months, even six months in some cases. You may look at the baby and feel that milk is coming down because this is all related to hormones so it will only stop gradually, don’t worry. I wouldn’t personally recommend medicines for this.
Rupali – Had c-sec on 4 Aug… and acoording to what they say, in c-section delivery milk supply is not much – so how to maintain that? Besides, I feel my dd is not satisfied when I feed her from my left side. what would be the cause?
Rupali you have been mis-informed. This is not true at all- the milk supply is no less in women who have had c-sec. All you need to do is take a good diet, take ample rest, have good thoughts and de-stress. Just keep feeding the baby and the milk will come.
Payal – My baby will complete 2 month on 17th august.. She is completely on ff. I’m hardly able to give 30ml of bm and that’s from right side. Is it possible to increase the bm from both side? And whats the solution if possible….
Despite having preference for one side, continue to feed from both the sides, no matter how comfortable you feel.
Huma – Hello Dr….I have a feeling that when I discontinue bf say after 2 years my 7 month old baby won’t develop the habit to have milk after that. Am I right or wrong?..Please guide…thanks.
No, the thing is that you will not stop milk at once. As the child grows up you start weaning- gradual introduction and supplementation to your breast milk with other things. Other things can be cow’s milk or some other milk, along with different semi-solids like khichdi, dal etc. So please don’t be fearful or else it will affect your breast milk.