Re-establishment of breastfeeding - relactation

If you have interrupted breastfeeding for any reason and decided to breastfeed your baby again, success is possible! You need, first of all, a great desire, as well as time, patience, consistency and support.

Relactation may be needed if your baby was sick and could not suckle, if you did not express milk while you were separated from the baby, if you did not breastfeed at first but now want to, if you were sick and stopped breastfeeding because you used some medications. Sometimes even an adoptive mother manages to establish lactation, if she previously breastfed her biological children.

As with breastfeeding, the mother's motivation and perseverance are crucial for relactation. It is necessary to be close to the child, cuddle, play, not only during feeding, but whenever the child is awake.

How long it takes to re-establish lactation is individual and depends on the baby's age and the time that has elapsed since you stopped lactation. That period may be 2 weeks, but also a month.

Procedure

Make sure you and your baby have a comfortable breastfeeding position.
Try to eat regularly; drink a glass of water before each breastfeed.
Put the baby to the breast 10-12 times a day.
Check how the baby latches on the breast.
Nighttime breastfeeds are indispensable; a sleepy baby sucks more easily.
Feed the baby formula with a teaspoon, syringe, cup or relactation system.
When you feel that the breasts are filled with milk before breastfeeding and empty after breastfeeding, that the baby actively suckles, that you can feel him/her pulling milk out, swallowing, then gradually reduce the amount of formula by 10-30 ml per day.
The baby's body weight should be measured regularly.
Keep track of the number of stools and the number of wet diapers per day.
Increase fluid intake and caloric value of food.
Provide family support, to have enough time for relactation.

The relactation system can be purchased at pharmacies or improvised at home with a baby infusion system. If formula feeding is the dominant milk intake, and breastfeeding occurs sporadically, then the ideal way to re-establish lactation, through regular breast stimulation, is through the use of a relactation system.

As with breastfeeding, the mother's motivation and perseverance are crucial for relactation. It is necessary to be close to the child, cuddle, play, not only during feeding, but whenever the child is awake. Relactation will be easier if the child is very young (under two months) and is not used to bottle feeding, or if the mother has recently stopped breastfeeding.