Question
Can I stop breastfeeding at 3 months?
2 May 2017. Related: All topics, Children.
Can I stop breastfeeding at 3 months instead of 6 cause my family doesn’t know and I have to go back to work.
Answer
Thanks for getting in touch.
How long you breastfeed for is up to you. If you want to stop at 3 months then you can. If you’d like to continue to give your baby your milk, you could express it and give it to them in a bottle. Is this something that you’ve thought about?
If you do stop giving them your milk, its better that you don’t mix feed.
Hi Zitha,
Yes, this will be OK.
I’m hiv + with an undetectable viral load. My baby tested at birth and after 10 weeks and both results came back negative.
I used to express milk for him when I left him with his caregiver. But recently I was unable to pump enough milk for him. I stopped breastfeeding yesterday but my baby refuses to drink formular.
The major reason why I stopped is because I got a new job, However they changed my starting date to a month later so I would like to continue breastfeeding at least 2 weeks before i start work.
Is it ok to go back to breastfeeding after stopping for 36 hours?
Hello Esther,
As Lisa says on this question, if you do stop giving baby your milk, its better that you don’t mix feed. So it seems there can be increased risk to your baby if you mix feed bottle and breast. If you switch to formula milk it’s better not to switch back to breastfeeding.
I’m hiv positive and breastfeeding my newborn but i want to stop when she is a month old and give her formula milk only is it okay to do so.
Does switching breast milk to formula milk before six months in danger your baby how i don’t understand.
Hi Funke,
Sorry that your milk is not suffient for your baby. As Lisa says above, you can stop giving your baby your milk, but it’s better that you don’t mix feed. So you could stop breastfeeding at 5 months.
My baby is 5months today.I am HIV positive and now undetectable. I stopped breastfeeding my baby today because my milk is not sufficient for him again and place him on SMA gold. Hope my baby is safe and please advise.
Hi Phindiwe, Angelina has answered this question here. As she says, here in the UK it’s recommended to bottle feed. But you can breastfeed for 6 months if you’re undetectable, and then wean baby onto a safe diet. But switching from one to the other can increase risk to the baby.
I am six months pregnant and also HIV positive I would also like to breastfeed for atleast 3 months because after that I will be back at work my baby will be staying at daycare and I’m afraid of human errors because he won’t be a kid alone there.So I want to know if it’s completely safe to stop at 3 months or I shouldn’t start at all
Hi Monde,
Its OK to stop breastfeeding at 3 months.Its important however that you don’t mix feed.
What are dangers to stop breastfeeding at 3 months while hiv positive