罢奶 Nursing Strike – 国际母乳会

真正准备好断奶的宝宝基本上都会在几周或几个月的时间里逐渐离乳。如果你的宝宝或学步儿原本一直母乳吃得很好，突然就拒绝哺乳了，可能是所谓的“罢奶”，而不是彻底的断奶。罢奶对你和宝宝来说都是一件可怕又令人不安的事，但一般都是暂时的。大多数罢奶在二到四天内就会结束，宝宝又恢复如常地哺乳了。

第一件要记住的事就是别让宝宝饿着。另一件重要的事是保护你的奶量。

罢奶有很多原因，往往是对外界因素的临时反应，尽管有时导致罢奶的原因从未明确过。以下是一些最常见的引发罢奶的因素：

你换了体香剂、肥皂、香水、润肤霜等，宝宝闻起你来“不一样”了。
你一直压力很大（比如需要陪伴他人、重返职场、旅行、搬家、处理家庭危机）。
宝宝或者学步儿生病或是受伤了，让哺乳很不舒服（耳朵感染、鼻塞、鹅口疮、嘴唇破了）。
宝宝因为长牙而牙龈酸痛。
你最近改变了哺乳模式（开始了一份新工作、让保姆照顾孩子比平时多、由于忙碌而推迟了哺乳等）。
当宝宝咬你的时候，你反应过激吓着了宝宝。
你再度怀孕，奶量可能减少了。
你在排卵期，奶量可能会暂时减少。
当你和宝宝分开时，挤奶的时间越来越短或是次数越来越少。
你一直在生病和/或在服用药物（包括一些避孕方法），都可能对你的奶量有负面影响。
另外一个要考虑的因素是奶阵很冲或过多 (OALD) ，也就是你的奶水来得特别快而且喷得很猛，以至于宝宝不能很好地控制它。宝宝为了保护自己不被呛到会选择闭住他的嘴巴，抗拒乳房。

只有你自己才能确定上述因素中有哪些（如果有的话）符合你目前的情况。无论是什么原因，罢奶都会让每个人感到沮丧。宝宝可能很难安抚也不开心，而你会感到挫败郁闷。请记住你的宝宝并没有抗拒你，只要花一点时间，母乳喂养几乎都能恢复如常。

克服罢奶、让宝宝重回乳房需要耐心和毅力。如果怀疑是生病或受伤导致了罢奶，那就要去看医生。看看能否找到其他人来帮助分担一些家务并照顾大孩子，这样你就可以花更多的时间照顾小宝宝了。

试着放松，并把专注点放在如何让母乳喂养成为一种愉快的经历。你试着哺乳时，如果宝宝感到不安，就停下来先安慰他。多抱抱、轻抚他、和他肌肤接触都能帮助你们重新建立起亲密的关系。

此外，下面这些历经时间考验的建议已经帮助许多母乳喂养的父母克服了罢奶。最好在宝宝的正常喂奶时间之前尝试做这些，以确保宝宝不被饿着，防止他更抵触乳房。

尽量不要对此有压力（说起来容易，做起来难啊）。宝宝也会感到压力的。播放舒缓的音乐，调暗房间里的灯光，尽可能多地去做肌肤接触。
在宝宝睡着、刚刚醒来或者昏昏欲睡的时候给他喂奶。我们在快入睡或要醒来时，处于更原始的精神状态，而母乳喂养是宝宝的一种生存行为，有时他们在这个时候会恢复到良好的喂养状态。
变换不同的哺乳姿势。
边活动边哺乳。这时可以用上背巾或背带。
对宝宝格外地关注并做肌肤接触。
在尝试哺乳的间隙，用背巾或背带抱着宝宝，以增加亲密感。
你躺在床上裸露着上身和宝宝玩耍，毫无压力地哺乳。只要宝宝寻找乳房，就随时邀请他吃奶。
在一个安静、幽暗、没有干扰的房间里哺乳。
先刺激出奶阵让乳汁流出来，再给宝宝喂奶，这样他就能立即得到奖励。
一起洗个热水澡，尽量肌肤相贴地依偎着，自在地哺乳。
花时间看看其他的母乳宝宝和学步儿。有时候，来自同龄人的压力可能是件好事！国际母乳会的聚会就是个观摩的好地方。游乐场或者繁忙商场里的哺乳室也很有用。

尽管你在试着说服宝宝回到乳房上，也要确保他获得足够的奶量来生长，还要保持你的产奶量。

你可以考虑用杯子、勺子、眼药水滴管或注射器喂奶，同时继续努力让他回归乳房。你也可以用奶瓶喂宝宝，不过要确保用间歇式瓶喂的方法。奶瓶斜着喂或用快流速奶嘴有时会让宝宝乳头混淆，从而引起罢奶。你会发现他对吸吮的需求就能鼓励他去哺乳，而不像用其它方法“只是为了吃”。请尽量记住，一两天后就会迎刃而解。

尽管宝宝拒绝乳房，你也需要像亲喂宝宝时那么频繁地挤奶。一些妈妈发现用手挤奶很有效，而另一些妈妈则依赖于吸奶器吸奶。这种做法不仅保护了你的奶量，还可以避免堵奶或患乳腺炎的潜在风险。

每天花一小时对自己温柔一点。如果这些方法似乎都不管用，你当地的国际母乳会的哺乳辅导可以给你提供支持和更多的建议。

最后，如果罢奶一直持续，从几天变成了几周，这可能预示着你哺乳之旅的结束。请意识到你给了自己的孩子多么珍贵的礼物啊！这可能会是容易让情绪出现波动不安的时侯，尤其是当你原本的“计划”是要哺乳更长时间。更不用提你的荷尔蒙会随着奶量减少而变化了。照顾好自己，认真管理好断奶的过程以免堵奶或得乳腺炎。我们知道每个宝宝的母乳喂养之旅都是独一无二的。这是你的妈妈之旅迈出的又一步。祝贺自己为母乳喂养所做的努力吧！

Nursing Strikes

My Baby Is Suddenly Refusing to Nurse. Does That Mean It’s Time to Wean?

A baby who is truly ready to wean will almost always do so gradually, over a period of weeks or months. If your baby or toddler has been breastfeeding well and suddenly refuses to nurse, it is probably what is called a “nursing strike,” rather than a signal that it’s time to wean. Nursing strikes can be frightening and upsetting to both you and your baby, but they are almost always temporary. Most nursing strikes are over, with the baby back to breastfeeding, within two to four days.

First thing to remember is to feed the baby. The other important thing is to protect your supply.

Nursing strikes happen for many reasons. They are almost always a temporary reaction to an external factor, although sometimes their cause is never determined. Here are some of the most common triggers of nursing strikes:

You changed your deodorant, soap, perfume, lotion, etc. and you smell “different” to your baby.
You have been under stress (such as having extra company, returning to work, traveling, moving, dealing with a family crisis).
Your baby or toddler has an illness or injury that makes nursing uncomfortable (an ear infection, a stuffy nose, thrush, a cut in the mouth).
Your baby has sore gums from teething.
You recently changed your nursing patterns (started a new job, left the baby with a sitter more than usual, put off nursing because of being busy, etc.).
You reacted strongly when your baby bit you, and the baby was frightened.
You are newly pregnant and your milk supply may be reduced.
You are ovulating and your milk supply may be temporarily reduced.
You have been pumping less time or with less frequency when away from baby.
You have been sick and/or taking a medication (including some methods of birth control), which can have a negative impact on your supply.

One additional consideration is a strong or overactive letdown (OALD), where your milk comes in so fast and sprays hard that baby can’t control it well and closes his mouth, refusing the breast.

Only you know for certain which, if any, of the above factors apply in your current situation. No matter what the cause, a nursing strike is upsetting for everyone. The baby may be difficult to calm and unhappy. You might feel frustrated and upset. Remember your baby isn’t rejecting you. Breastfeeding will almost always get back to normal with a little time.

Getting over the nursing strike and getting your baby back to the breast takes patience and persistence. Get medical attention if an illness or injury seems to have caused the strike. See if you can get some extra help with your household chores and any older children so that you can spent lots of time with the baby.

Try to relax and concentrate on making breastfeeding a pleasant experience. Stop and comfort your baby if he or she gets upset when you try to nurse. Extra cuddling, stroking, and skin-to-skin contact with the baby can help you re-establish closeness.

Additionally, these time-tested suggestions have helped many nursing parents overcome a nursing strike. They are best to try before a baby’s normal feeding times, to assure that baby is not hungry and likely more resistant at the breast.

Try not to stress about it. (So easy to say, not to do.) The baby will pick up on stress. Play calming music, lower lights in the house, go skin to skin as much as possible.
Nurse the baby as he is asleep, just awakening, or is very drowsy. As we drift to sleep or awaken, we are in a more primitive state of mind and since breastfeeding is a survival behavior for babies, sometimes they revert to feeding well at this time.
Vary nursing positions.
Nurse when in motion. In this case, a sling or cloth carrier can be useful.
Give the baby extra attention and skin to skin contact.
Hold the baby in a sling or baby carrier between attempts to nurse to increase bonding.
Lay in bed to play with baby while you are topless, with no pressure to nurse. Just the open invitation if baby searches for the breast.
Nurse in a quiet, darkened room free of distractions.
Stimulate your let-down and get your milk flowing before offering the breast so the baby gets an immediate reward.
Take a warm bath together with lots of skin to skin snuggling and no pressure to nurse.
Sleep together, giving baby easy access to the breast while sleeping.
Spend time around other nursing babies and toddlers. Sometimes peer pressure can be a good thing! A LLL meeting is a natural place to do this. Playgroups or busy store nursing rooms can also be helpful.

While you are trying to persuade your baby back to the breast, you’ll want to make sure baby gets enough milk to sustain him and you keep your milk supply flowing.

You may consider feeding by cup, spoon, eyedropper, or syringe while you work on getting him back to the breast. You might feed baby by bottle, making sure to practice paced bottle feeding. Tilting a bottle or using fast-flow nipples can sometimes confuse baby and bring on a nursing strike. You may find that his need to suck will encourage him to nurse instead of “just eating” by the other methods. Try to keep in mind, this could all be over in a day or two.

While baby is refusing breast, you need to extract your milk as often as baby has been nursing. Some moms find hand expression to be effective, while others rely on pumping. Not only does this practice protect your supply, it also saves you from potential clogged ducts or mastitis.

Take one hour at a time. Be gentle with yourself. Your local LLL Leader can offer support and more suggestions if these don’t seem to be working.

Finally, if this strike goes on and days turn into weeks, this may signal the end of your nursing journey. Please recognize what a gift you have given your child! It can be an emotional time, especially when your “plan” was to nurse longer. Not to mention hormonal changes as your milk supply diminishes. Take care of yourself and manage the weaning carefully to avoid clogged ducts or mastitis. We recognize each nursling’s breastfeeding journey is entirely individual and unique. This is yet another step in your motherhood journey. Congratulate yourself on your breastfeeding effort!