How do I dry up my breast milk supply??

Question

I originally was going to breast feed but I had some recovery complications after my c-section. My son is doing really good on formula and don't want to change it now.

Is there anything that I can do or take that will help speed up the process. My breast hurt so bad and i want this to be over! Please any help would be great......

Answer 1

Be very careful with that and if you get a fever or your breast continue to hurt call your doctor, I stopped breastfeeding due to the pain and didnt think it was such a big deal, my breast were hurting and I ended up having a breast infection and abscess, I had surgery in both breast 3 weeks after having my baby, it was awful, they left the wounds open so they could drain, its not fun having scars in your breasts so really consult your doctor and be aware of any signs of infection

Answer 2

I don't know if there's anything you could do to help speed up the process but you could definitely relieve your symptoms by supporting your breasts with a sports bra. I actually used the victoria secrets body and that seemed to work to take off some of the pressure when I wasn't laying down...it may not work for everyone. I also know that when I was in so much pain, I would express milk a little at a time until some of the pain was relieved. Expressing too much milk of course you know would produce more milk but just enough to relieve some pain would work. I dealt with this ordeal for about a good week and a half before the milk started drying up and becoming less painful. Warm showers worked because I was able to easily express the milk especially in the areas where it was extremely hard and painful.

Good Luck..can't wait for it to be over for you..but soon enough it will!

Answer 3

Take hot showers and massage your breasts.Wear a TIGHT sports bra.

Use an anti-inflammatory medication, such as ibuprophen every 4 to 6 hours, as needed.

Drink a few cups of sage tea daily. Sage has properties in it that inhibit milk production.

Do not restrict water intake. Some moms try to dry out milk by drinking less. Restricting your fluids will not reduce your engorgement and may lead to dehydration.

Use ice packs or frozen vegetables for compresses. Use cold compresses for twenty minutes a few times a day. boil the cabbage just long enough to soften the leaves, then place them in the fridge until they are cold. place them on the bare breast. the cold helps slow down the production and circulation, and helps ease the pain. Do not put ice or frozen veggies directly on your skin. Use a towel between the ice and skin. You may have used heat before to relieve discomfort; this is not advised for engorgement. Warm compresses may encourage your milk to let down and increase milk production.

Place refrigerated cabbage leaves inside your bra for a couple of hours or till they wilt. Cabbage leaves have been used for years to help relieve engorgement. We do not know exactly why cabbage leaves help with engorgement but some researchers believe that there are substances in the cabbage that help to reduce swelling and inflammation. Break up the cabbage leaves so that there are no hard veins in them. Arrange them in your bra so they are comfortable and there are no hard spots pressing against your breast. Do not use cabbage leaves if you are allergic to cabbage or sulfa.

Do not pump. Pumping will signal your body to make more milk. Your body works on supply and demand. If you empty your breast, your body will think that it needs to make milk. When your breast becomes full it signals your body to make less milk. If you are very engorged, hand expressing milk is okay, but just empty enough to relieve discomfort. There is no point in being miserable while you are drying out.

Answer 4

Try hot compresses (like just a hot washcloth) on your breasts and take some ibuprofen. It will help a little. You'll be sore for a few days for sure and there isn't too much to be done about it unfortunately, but you will dry up. I found wearing a snug sports bra helped a little bit, even wrapping your breasts a little tighter can help.

Good luck and it will happen!

Answer 5

breast feeding is ideal for baby, but if there is no way for you to do it (and you're 100% sure) you can use cold cabbage leaves to ease the milk production. boil the cabbage just long enough to soften the leaves, then place them in the fridge until they are cold. place them on the bare breast. the cold helps slow down the production and circulation, and helps ease the pain. there is something in the cabbage that helps dry you out(i have no idea what, but it has worked for my family and other people i know for years now). its my great grandma's solution!

if breast feeding isn't possible, can you pump for a few weeks so baby gets the nutrition from the milk?

good luck and congratulations!

Answer 6

Wear a tight, and I mean TIGHT sports bra. Using safety pins, pin an ace bandage to one side of the bra. Wrap the ace bandage over your boobs very tight........you can slip ice packs in between the bra and the bandage.....

Unfortunately you can't dry up the milk any faster.......it will dry up on its own in a few days. Put this will really help with that awful ache that you get every time you move.

Answer 7

I'm sorry your breasts are hurting you. Try warming a 'towel' in hot water, wring it out and lay it over your bare breasts ... that will help 'relieve' your pain. Then when the 'pain' is gone down you can apply 'white vinegar' to your nipples ... I don't know why, but white vinegar 'helps' the milk ducts 'dry out' ... it may take two or three weeks to 'dry completely' ... and you must WATCH YOURSELF FOR HEAVY BLEEDING 'down there' because when you aren't 'making milk' the 'oxytocin' in your system isn't 'clamping down' on the blood vessels in your uterus ... if you start bleeding 'heavily' then you need to go to the ER IMMEDIATELY. GOOD LUCK ... and CONGRATULATIONS on your new baby boy!

Answer 8

You just have to leave them alone, no stimulation to them whatsoever. Do not expose them to hot water and dont let the shower water fall on them. Do massage them either, this is to help engorged breasts when breastfeeding and is NO GOOD when trying to let the milk dry up. Why dont you give breastfeeding a go? Its the best thing for them in the long run.

Answer 9

no hot showers!! that just makes it worse. There is no pill you can take, that was took off the market due to its concerns about causing cancer. Wrap your best as tightly as possible with an ace bandage and wear a sports bra. Don't touch them!!! Any stimulation makes them produce more milk. When you take a shower, take a warm one. Do not let the water spray directly on them, let it run down the front. Pat dry and rewrap. Try not to lay on them. That's about it.

Answer 10

There are no safe medications to dry up your milk. Sorry. Likely you will continue to be engorged until around 6 weeks post partum, binding and cold compresses can help somewhat.

Honestly no matter how well your son is doing on formula, he would do better on breastmilk. There are no benefits to formula feeding.