When does breast milk dry up?

Answer 1

usually about a week - 10 days when you stop breastfeeding or dont breastfeed



maybe this will help too
If you let nature take its course, in a week to ten days, your breasts will typically dry up and feel like they did before pregnancy. Most women find they are most uncomfortable when their milk comes in — around day three after delivery. There are some measures you can take, though, to ease the discomfort caused by engorgement and hurry the process along.
• Wear a snug-fitting bra to "bind" your breasts.


• Avoid nipple stimulation, which encourages your breasts to produce milk.


• Don't pump, even to relieve engorgement — it encourages milk production.


• Apply cold compresses to your breasts a couple of times a day.


• Place a large, fresh, slightly crushed green cabbage leaf inside each of your bra cups, changing the leaves when they wilt, until your breasts are soft again (it may take 48 hours or so). No one knows for sure why cabbage leaves are so soothing. Some lactation experts speculate that there's an anti-inflammatory agent in cabbage that helps ease pain and reduce swelling.


• Drink two to three cups of sage tea each day (sage discourages milk production).


• Take a mild pain reliever such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen, as needed

Answer 2

Interesting question as I wondered about that myself when, about a year after my son was weaned, I could still squeeze milk out of mine. And it still seems like you can get plugged ducts. Probably not explaining that right, I don't know how to articulate it or describe it without going into too much -more than I want to detail. :) Someone had told me that your breasts will never be the same after you get pregnant & in some ways they won't! :) I was able to nurse as long as my sons still wanted to. And you CAN get pregnant while lactating & nursing! Some women's bodies work differently than others. Obviously, some women have had different experiences in nursing/lactating or be able to & how long, etc.
My breasts started getting ready right away & expelling some of that premilk stuff with my first pregnancy. And my breasts were always full & easy to lactate for both my boys. I don't know if my Mom was able to nurse me as I was in an incubator for a couple months after I was born. (Premie) And my Mom & I were very close even though she didn't get to do that or cuddle me right away like with my sis. So, even though breast is mostly best, Momma's that couldn't shouldn't feel bad as all can still work out anyway & another way can be provided! :)

And yes, supply & demand usually has a roll in it!

Answer 3

It depends...it varies from woman to woman, pregnancy to pregnancy...

The old cabbage leaf solution works...

If your baby stops nursing, it will dry up, that is the main way. It goes away from lack of use.

If you are not drinking enough water, getting enough iron, eating enough food, or getting enough extra nutrients (such as very good eating or taking pre or post natal vitamins), that will dry it up for sure!

I inadvertently dried up my milk by drinking Mother's Milk tea! Some women say it increases production, but it dried it up for me (estrogen effect)!

I hope that you at least TRIED to breast feed. It is so good for your baby and not as complicated as some books and lactation experts make it.

It is also cheaper than formula.


Good luck.

Answer 4

Well, it depends. The breast milk will dry up faster if you dont use it. I'm not suggesting for you to go borrow a baby and let it suck you dry. But the more active it is, the more milk it makes. Also, if your constantly dehydrated, there's a possible chance of dry milk in your breasts.

Answer 5

It depends on you and your baby. Lactation will last as long as you continue to feed your baby, or rather, as long as the baby consumes a significant amount. In some cultures, babies are breast fed for several YEARS. There may be an ulterior reason for this, as many cultures believe that a mother who is lactating can not conceive -- which is not always true. Usually, once the child is introduced to alternate foods, its appetite for breast milk diminishes and, as there is less demand, production decreases until it ceases altogether.

Answer 6

First of all, congratulations on the new addition to the family :)

And I believe that you stop producing when you stop giving. As long as the baby feeds, the breast milk will still keep coming. I think it takes a bit of time... something like up to 2 weeks.. but it will stop.

Good luck! Enjoy your beatiful baby! :-)

Answer 7

Take this from a mother of 6 who breast fed each baby. breast milk produces as you nurse. If you quit nursing it will take a couple of days for your breasts to realize that they no longer need to produce milk but within a week after no more nursing your milk will no longer produce.


hope this helps.

Answer 8

Not sure if you are breastfeeding or not. I never did both of my babies were bottle babies. I tried with my first and NEVER had milk and I do mean NEVER (unusual I know). With my second baby I was on so many steroids for a back injury which ended up in surgery etc... and I had milk for 6 1/2 months and I never breastfeed and my doctor told me that this was actually normal :(
Hope this helps :)

Answer 9

Every woman is different and every pregnancy is different. Some women are able to keep nursing as long as the baby is still drinking well into two and three years. My wife tried to nurse as long as possible but her periods never stopped during nursing and her milk always dried up before a year. It varied between three months to nine months, I think.

Answer 10

it just doesn't dry up. the mother stops producing the milk in small amounts at a time until the child doesn't need to be breast fed anymore.