Breastfeeding

[Newanxiousmum]

Hi mums,
I have stopped BF my baby, and I pump occasionally as my breasts still leak here nd there... when will my breast stop leaking?? When I didnt pump for a day I got Mastitis... do I keep pumping to get rid of Mastitis ? Or will i just stop leaking?

The more you pump/breastfeed, the more milk your body will make. Supply and demand. So ideally you want to pump as little as possible but enough to give you relief. Did you stop breastfeeding suddenly? Mine naturally got less and less to occasionally and therefore I didn’t need to do much in the way of expressing. I would hand express a little to make you feel comfortable if you need to.

I understand the logic of supply & demand... my LO wasn't latching enough and eventually I started producing little milk so I stopped breastfeeding for mine & baby's sake. There are some days when am not able to pump, then next day I leak.. some days when I pump i get quite a bit of milk nd some days I get little less milk.. even after pumping less I feel like am still leaking...

How long ago did you stop BF and how little is the baby?

About 2 weeks ago now, and I pump occasionally when I see my breast leaking. My LO is 9 weeks old.

If you’re pumping you’re telling your body to make more milk. Try hand expressing just enough to take the pressure feeling away, if you’re not feeling that engorged pressure just ignore the leaking and it will stop, it takes a bit of time for the signals to take affect.

Have you tried a little hand expressing, just enough to relieve the pressure?

A decongestant might help too.

I wouldn't pump as that'll tell your body to make even more milk. Get some reusable breast pads, they absorb really well. Your body will adjust soon and you'll stop leaking. At 9 weeks I'd be expecting your baby to be feeding very frequently anyway - usually mastitis is if you go a long time without feeding. I actually got mastitis only when I did pump.

Pump only if you feel very uncomfortable and just a tiny bit to relieve the pressure. I did this when I stopped breastfeeding and was gradually able to reduce down pumping to once a day then every other day etc.