injections to end lactation?

[sleepfinder]

I'm wondering if anyone has had an injection after giving birth (soon after) in order to repress lactation from the very start?

I am wondering what side effects (if any) people have experienced and what was the attitude of medical staff providing the injection (I think its a hormone boost like dopamine, but I'm not sure...)

Any specifics, gratefully received!!!

I think this was a common thing to do in the 60's and 70's, when bottlefeeding was very much the norm. My mum had (tablets I think?) to reduce her milk supply.
I don't think it is advised at all these days.

why would you want to?

serious question btw.

There did used to be an injection like this, but from what I know, it had some worrisome side effects - stroke maybe? It certainly had a risk of death involved, so they stopped giving it.

I was given a tablet to prevent me from lactating after losing my baby at 19 weeks. I was too out of it to ask what it was, which I feel badly about.

Think it is now reserved for situations like mrs darcy's

Thanks everyone, for trying to answer my questions, and I'm very sorry to hear of your particular experience MrsDarcy.

After much searching on google, I found this info below, and discovered that reassuringly, Bromocriptine does not hold any adverse effects on the mother AT ALL, it contains dopamine (the thing I'd heard about...) and that boosts seratonin and is usually used in treating parkinsons patients...:

"Drugs that may suppress lactation
Besides medicines that affect the infant, there are also certain medicines that suppress lactation. In some instances, these medicines are used if the mother has decided not to breast-feed. On the other hand, Sisters need to counsel patients that these medicines may affect the quantity of breast milk produced.

There are several types of drugs that may suppress lactation. These include:

Bromocriptine (e.g Parlodel®)
High dose pyridoxine - B6 (e.g.Beesix®, Lactosec®)
High dose oestrogens in oral contraceptives (e.g. Nordette®, Nordiol®, Logynon®, Ovral®)
Diuretics including loop diuretics and thiazide diuretics.

Bromocriptine and high dose pyridoxine are both used to suppress lactation when the mother does not want to breast-feed any longer. Bromocriptine is usually the drug of choice if the mother does not want to start breast-feeding at all and pyridoxine is usually used in mothers who have decided to stop feeding their child at a later stage. It is often not necessary to use medicines to suppress lactation and many women find that the milk supply diminishes as the infant takes less at each feed due to the diet being supplemented by an increasing number of solids.

Bromocriptine acts by suppressing the prolactin secretion from the pituitary gland that occurs after parturition. The usual dose is 1,25mg orally on the day of delivery followed by 2,5mg daily for 14 days."

Um. I quote:

SIDE EFFECTS: May cause drowsiness. Avoid tasks requiring alertness. Other side effects may include stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, indigestion, constipation, diarrhea, headache, fatigue, lightheadedness, insomnia, nasal congestion. These should subside as your body adjusts to the medication. If any of these effects persist or worsen, notify your doctor promptly. Notify your doctor if you develop: bloody vomit, confusion, fainting, depression, irregular pulse, shortness of breath, rash, tingling of hands or feet, involuntary movements, nightmares, vision changes. If you notice other effects not listed above, contact your doctor or pharmacist.

cite .

No medication is without potential side effects, except perhaps for placebos.

Sounds like the "potential" side effects of every over the counter medicine - and The Pill...

Thanks for listing though! Always good to hear the positives...

When my mum wanted to stop breastfeeding, her GP advised her to have no more than 2 drinks (tea, water, anything) per day. She reckoned it worked after 3 days or so. Admittedly this was not imediately post birth, but at least a couple of weeks later I think.

i don't think they do the injection anymore.
my ds1 was born with tongue tie. after two weeks of pathetic attempts at latching him on i had a very painful infection and my breasts were a funny colour. the infection had taken over my body. even in that state i was only offered some pills to slow the milk down but that was 6 years ago and i can't remember what they were.
i thought the full milk supply only kicked in when breastfeeding becomes established anyway.

Hi, I had my ds at 30weeks in France, they didn't give me an injection but they did bind me and give me some tablets that I was supposed to take for a month had to be bound for 1 week and only took tablets for 2 weeks. My mum says they didn't give her any pills/injection just bound her and my sister who miscarried at 19wks was given nothing!

Thanks very much ladies for sharing your info. Its interesting about France.

I was told recently that in France they also don't bother with a "specific" due date because, well, obviously only about 5% of women actually deliver on that day and as we know it could be 2 wks either side. Sounds very very sensible to me - and helps avoid the vulture like hovering of friends and relatives around that due date time...