Can you stop your milk coming in?

[babyhmummy01]

Due to medical reasons I will not be BF but am worried about my milk coming in - i am sure i read somewhere that there are meds that can be given to stop your milk coming in, is that true and if so how easy is it to arrange?

[AvonCallingBarksdale]

felt horrendously isolated and left out of their early days due to his EXW EBF among other things

really? Sounds a bit odd.

You don't have to justify your choices on here, you know and you're right that's it's good to be armed with knowledge. Good luck with your baby.

[babyhmummy01]

Lovebeingup I know its not! Its what so called friends in RL have insinuated at the fact I am not even going to attempt to BF.

Dame sounds a tad extreme! Think I will keep pestering for the meds! My GP etc know the situation with my shoulder so am hoping that they will see where i am coming from and support me

[babyhmummy01]

Avon she is incredibly odd! We generally have an ok relationship which I am at pains to maintain for DP and his kids sake but i have to wonder how the hell she manages to exist with some of her bizarre beliefs. DP is a very hands on Dad but she refused to allow him to do anything - she has told me in all seriousness that 'Dad's just don't understand a baby, it needs mum 100% of the time as that is who they know and love from being inside her' that 'Dad's have no business feeding a baby, its why we have breasts'

She doesn't know I plan to FF cos I can see the hideous reaction I will have to deal with.

[wigglesrock]

I didn't breast feed any of my children. If you don't get anywhere re prescribed medication. I wore a good bra, the milk came in around day 3/4 after birth. I took cocodamol - just obviously double check re any other medication you're taking. Don't touch your breasts - not even to relieve any fullness, I turned my back in the shower, no cascading water for me .

I hope you get sorted out with GP, midwives. Good luck with the birth .

[ExBrightonBell]

Babyhmummy01, I just felt it was important to say that ebf does not in anyway exclude partners. It is other factors that means that this happens and mode of feeding is irrelevant.

Back on topic, good luck with your baby - there has been some excellent advice here about the drugs you will need. I hope no midwife, GP or HV gives you any problem with requesting what you need.

[babyhmummy01]

Exbrighton - i know it shouldn't was just trying not to drip feed rather than blame EBF, but thanks for your good wishes and info!

So far HCP's have been brilliant, I guess cos they are aware of the meds i should be on and the extreme pain etc that i am suffering not being on them. I came off the meds in Feb as risk of MC is high during withdrawal so GP looked into guidelines and they said not to wean til 2nd trimester which has its own risks of birth defects etc. So far all is good but to BF on them could kill the baby and after 17 years of being told i was infertile I intend to be very PFB til i know she is here safe and sound with no issues!

[clucky80]

Hi BabyH, I wasn't allowed to breast feed for medical reasons (I've had a double transplant and take 3 types of fairly toxic immunosuppressants that don't pass through the placenta but do pass through breast milk) and I didn't take any kind of tablet to stop my milk coming in. Around day 3 after delivery it did and I would leak milk when my DS cried. This stopped after a few weeks though and I just wore breast pads for a while. I felt really guilty over not being able to BF and felt that I had to explain to people that it was for medical reasons, I grew to learn that not everyone BF's though for various reasons. My DS is a very healthy little boy and it definitely did help me to be able to give him to DH's for some feeds as my medical conditions can make me very tired. Just do what is right for you and I wish you lots of luck and happiness with your new baby x

[babyhmummy01]

haha Aidan it amazes me how many ppl feel its their place to comment never mind ask! Family have generally been fine, its been a few hardcore BF friends who have had the opinions -they have been told to mind their own business (mostly politely but one has been put firmly in her place) Ironically the biggest backlash was from a male friend! His poor wife looked mortified at his attack on me - admittedly he wasn't nasty just VERY forthright in his beliefs.

[babyhmummy01]

thanks clucky

[DameFanny]

For what it's worth I'm the only daughter in my family that bf'd to 6 months - possibly because I'm pretty stubborn. But I trapped a nerve in my back the third trimester and if it hadn't righted with physio I wouldn't have bf'd - because it would have been a straight choice between being able to pick up ds or feed him - no brainer, I would have ff'd...

[babyhmummy01]

this is my issue with my shoulder Dame - BF and be in so much pain i can barely move and risk it giving out when i pick her up or FF and be pain free and continue with physio to try and stregthen it...ultimately it needs major surgery but the success rate under 40 is shockingly bad so am stuck for the next 7 years

[DoingTheSwanThing]

Please, don't feel you need to justify your choice to anyone, on here or in RL - it amazes me that people would ask, never mind pass comment on your feeding method!
Carbergoline is the most common option - perhaps your GP would prescribe in advance, or one of the Obs docs. You could always play the potential for mastitis card! Its obviously v unlikely that (beyond being uncomfortably) you'd have any issues, but if they're reluctant to prescribe you might want to suggest that it'd be preventing problems as other posters have said, without stimulating your breasts, milk won't "come in" to the same extent as if BF on demand. In case you do get uncomfortable though, it's worth knowing how to hand express just enough to take the pressure off.
Very best of luck with the rest of your pregnancy and early days with your long awaited baby, enjoy every second. It's magic

[Twattybollocks]

Between you me and the garden fence, I've heard sudafed decongestant tablets are pretty effective at drying up unwanted milk.

[DameFanny]

Much sympathy for getting through the next few weeks you poor thing...

[babyhmummy01]

twatty thanks will bear it in mind!

Doingtheswanthing hadn't thought of a pre-emptive request - will speak to MW when i next see her

Dame thanks

[sunshine401]

I did not bf my youngest. The milk coming in was not at all a problem. Had big (Really big) boobs for the whole of a day no pain what so ever no leaks nothing. All was fine the next day. Just don't touch

[PeaceAndHope]

Hi there! I didn't breastfeed either- not because I couldn't, simply because I didn't want to.

Please ignore all the people who say "Are you sure you can't/don't want to?" They need to learn to answer the question asked or just mind their own business.

The medicine you want is cabergoline which is also prescribed to women with hyperprolactinemia.

NHS will NOT prescribe it to you. If you have any relatives living abroad who can get some of it for you, then that would be your best bet. (This is what I did).

The NHS philosophy is to make life as difficult as possible for women who don't breastfeed. So be prepared! I repeat- the medicine you want is cabergoline and they will definitely not prescribe it to you.

If you can't get your hands on the pills, then the only option is to wear a tight fitting bra and follow the other home remedies the previous posters have already described.

All the best!!

[valiumredhead]

Yeah I asked for meds to dry my milk up and was told nothing is prescribed these days.

[babyhmummy01]

Hmm, will speak to mw and see what she advises then.

[HarderToKidnap]

Cabergoline is a horrible drug with dreadful side effects. And your milk coming in will only be uncomfy for a couple of days. A tight bra, pain relief and cold packs would be much better than intense nausea, diarrhoea, the shakes and sweats etc that you often get with cabergoline.

[Panzee]

I think I accidentally stopped my supply when trying to cure trapped wind with peppermint capsules.

[Shellywelly1973]

Hi op. I didn't feed some of my dc. My mum told me to wear tight bra, don't drink-even though you will be seriously thirsty & take paracetomal. Don't take your bra off unless showering& get it back on asap.

Best of luck. Don't stress...my 2 are in their 20's & absolutely fine.

[Thurlow]

I don't know about the drugs but I can say the pain of milk coming in only lasted a few days. I had two days of it being really quite painful and as others have said, the hard part is trying not to touch them in anyway and encourage milk production. I had a non-wired bar very, very tight, so tight I had strap marks over and under my arms, and by day 3 they were just uncomfortable, and then it went very quickly. If you can't get anything from the NHS to help then considering the other parts of you that ache etc after the birth, the swollen breasts weren't an overwhelming problem.

[PeaceAndHope]

I have taken cabergoline for hyperprolactinemia as a teen and then again after having children to stop the milk flow.

I had absolutely no side effects. If you look it up online, you'll see that birth control pills actually have more listed side effects then cabergoline.

Everyone reacts differently to medication and the medicine can always be stopped in case of a side effect.

Furthermore, in my mother's time women were freely prescribed this medication to stop milk flow and very few in my knowledge had any terrible reaction.

It should be a choice- the side effects should discussed openly and then it should be up to the woman to take the pills or not.

The whole idea behind stopping the practice of prescribing this medicine is to try and convince women to breastfeed and make formula feeding as difficult as possible.