How and When should I wean my child?
When to Wean
WHO recommends that a baby should be exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of life. And breastfeeding should continue for a minimum of 2 years and beyond. There is no upper age limit suggested at which breastfeeding should be stopped. Breastfeeding is a relationship between a mother and her baby. And they should be encouraged and supported to continue this relationship for as long as they wish to.
Approaches to weaning:
There are several approaches to weaning a baby off the breast.
Click on each to understand how it might work
In exceptional situations, due to medical reasons or other emergencies, the child may need to be weaned off before the baby is of the minimum recommended age of 2 years. In such cases, the mother led ‘gentle weaning techniques’ must be followed so that it is most comfortable and least traumatic for the mother as well as the child. It should be aimed to make the transition as smooth as possible.
Wish to speak with a member of our team who is a certified lactation professional and also an experienced breastfeeding mother, click on this link.
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Disclaimer
We understand and acknowledge that parents and babies can be of various genders on a spectrum of LGBTQI+. Families come in diverse flavours. However, in our articles, for the sake of simplicity and convenience, we will be referring to the breastfeeding parent as the mother and using the female pronouns- ‘she’ and ‘her’ for babies. Babies can be nourished and nurtured in different ways and while we have used the terms breastfeeding and nursing, we recognize that parents can opt to chest feed or finger feed.
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