Weaning or dropping pump sessions

When and how to stop is your family's choice. The WHO and the AAP suggest breast milk alone for about the first 6 months, then alongside food for up to 2 years or beyond, for as long as it works for you both. Whenever you stop, going slowly is easier on your body and your baby.

Why go slowly

Cutting down gradually helps prevent overfull, hard breasts (engorgement) and mastitis. It also gives you both time to adjust.

Dropping nursing sessions

• Drop one feed at a time.
• Allow about a week for each feed you drop. The AAP describes dropping one every 2 or 3 days, or once a week. Go at the slower end if your breasts feel full.
• The whole process can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months.
• For a child over 1, the midday feed is often the easiest to drop first. Morning and bedtime feeds tend to go last.
• Partial weaning is an option too, such as keeping early morning and bedtime feeds for a while.

Dropping pump sessions

The same rules apply to pumping.

• Drop one session at a time, and allow about a week for each.
• If you feel uncomfortably full, express just enough to feel comfortable. Pumping to empty keeps supply high.
• Watch the daily total in Insights as you go. A steady, gradual fall is what you're after.

What your baby drinks instead

• Under 1 year: replace each dropped feed with formula, from a bottle or, from 6 months, a cup. Breast milk you've stored works too.
• Over 1 year: a child eating a range of foods doesn't need a replacement feed. Cows' milk isn't suitable as a main drink before 1 year.

When to get help

• A hard, red or painful area of the breast, or flu-like symptoms: call your doctor or midwife.
• Mastitis symptoms that don't improve 12 to 24 hours after treating them at home: see your doctor.
• Your baby isn't taking enough from a bottle or cup, or has fewer pee diapers: call your pediatrician.