Giving up breastfeeding?

[tifka]

I am making a kind of research and I`m also personally wondering what are the main issues of giving up breastfeeding? Why mothers usually stop nursing?

Or maybe you could direct me to some forums that would answer my questions. I can`t find one myself.

Thanks for any help!

[mum2beagain]

I have just recently stopped nursing my second child at just over 9 months. I had wished to continue until he was 1 year old but he had other ideas! He just started loosing interest in nursing around 8 1/2 months and was only nursing morning and night for the last month. I decided to stop completely when he began biting every time I fed him, it became too painful for me.
I wanted to nurse my first child. He was born 8 weeks prematurely so I had to pump for him to be fed breast milk, we tried to get him to nurse but his suck was just too weak so I pumped as long as I could but my milk dried up by the time he was a couple of months old and I had to switch to a special preemie formula then, I was very dissapointed.

Hope my experiences help you with your research.

[tifka]

Thank you very much for answering :)

To all:  I`m hopeing to read many opinions, either they come from a personal experience or someone elses. So all information will be accepted :)

[mama2kja]

#1 i stopped nursing him at 23 months old. i was pregnant with his brother and going into preterm labor.

#2 he weaned himself at 14 months because my milk dried up from the pregnancy with his sister.

#3 im trying to wean right now. she's 15 months old and im 14 weeks pregnant. it hurts when i nurse her and my milk is drying up.

[tiredbuthappy]

are you looking for info on why people give up early on? or only after breastfeeding successfully for an extended period of time. breastfeeding does not come as naturally to some as one would think. often, babies have physical or developmental problems that prevent them from latching right away. after being offered a bottle early on, many babies will not go to the breast because it is less work for the baby to get milk. one of the biggest reasons women stop early on is misinformation or a lack of support. often, breast feeding is painful in the beginning. this can be from a poor latch or poor positioning. without proper support and instruction (from a nurse, doctor, lactation consultant, etc...), a mom may decide it is too painful and give up quickly. other reasons for giving up early on is that having a newborn is tiring and stressful, and a woman may feel "tied down" and resent having to be the one who does every feed (especially at night). other women don't have a good milk supply, or do not give their milk enough time to fully come in before they quit.

personally, i gave up trying to nurse after 2 months of working with a lactation consultant. my baby was premature and had feeding issues. in those 2 months, she never actually nursed successfully- that's just how long we tried. my baby does get only breast milk that i pump. her feeding at the bottle has been improving, and i am slowly starting to try again, although only every other day or so to not stress me or her. i do belong to another forum for people who exclusively pump breast milk. many of the women there were never able to nurse because their babies were premature or had problems like cleft pallets. others gave up after bouts of mastitis, or because it was too painful and stressful.

[Cheyenne_08]

I too had a premature baby. He was 2 months early. He has some developmental delays that kept him from being able to pay attention long enough to do it. He would latch on beautifully, but could only do it for about 3 or 4 minutes. After that he would scream if i tried to make him, or tried to get him to latch back on. I pumped and gave him breast milk through a bottle from birth to 2.5 months old. But had to stop because my supply was not holding up to his demand. I was also on meds that are known for drying up breast milk. He is now 4 months old and on a special formula for premature/ low birth weight infants

[nikkicole827]

I had to give up breastfeeding at 3 weeks because I could not produce adequate milk and my daughter was losing weight instead of gaining as well as becoming dehydrated.  I tried both feeding and pumping to up my supply and could only get 2 ounces with only an hour of pumping if I was lucky.... and that was from both breasts not just one.  So after living a life of trying to get my hungry daughter fed and feeling enormously guilty and sleepless, I began giving her formula and she began to grow and be a happier baby... and me a happier mom.  

[tifka]

I am looking for any information, but mostly why people have given up nursing early.

[kris123]

i gave up at about 5 weeks because my mild never really came in.  I was pumping every hour all day long and only maybe at the most got an ounce.  I would mix it with formula.  He did fianlly latch on but would only for a few min.  The milk just wasn't there.  I was so so sad and still am.  I wanted the closeness that came with it.  It was just to streesfull to keep trying.  I gave it up and went to formula.  Come to find out Ryan had colic and I wonder if I stuck with it, maybe the milk would come

[girlybuff]

I am stil breastfeeding at 14 and a half months.  I love the closeness of it and I wouldn't change it for the world.  I can see how women have other kids just to get that bond again cause once it's over it's over, well that part anyway, but I must admit I am not quite ready to give up yet.  Well, in some ways I am but in other ways I'm not.  I guess emotionally it's going to be a hellish ride for me when it's over but I'm sure I'll have a little more freedom you know....   The price we pay but back to the point,.... ther are lots of reasons women give it up early, some mental, some physical.  I wanted to breastfeed, I said I was, I had a VERY hard time doing itbut I never gave up and now look at me, I'm satuck LOL...