The period of weaning the child from breastfeeding:
The duration of weaning a child from breastfeeding differs from one mother to another, depending on a number of factors such as:
Auxiliary milk:
Mothers who use supplemental milk in addition to breastfeeding are able to wean the child from breastfeeding faster, as he is used to having another source of nutrition.
Weaning method:
Weaning that depends on preventing breastfeeding completely takes less time than weaning that depends on gradually preventing the child from breastfeeding.
For example, the World Health Organization states that you can start weaning a child gradually, starting from the age of six months to two years or more, meaning that weaning may continue for a long period, which may extend for months, until the child is accustomed to solid food.
Depending on the child:
As mentioned previously, there are some children who wean themselves, while other children need more time to accept this separation from the mother.
When to wean a child from breastfeeding:
There are several things that you will notice about your child that make you think about starting to prepare him for weaning, including:
- He can control his neck muscles.
- He can sit.
- He opens his mouth if you give him food.
- He can express by his facial movements or by nodding his head his desire to eat or his refusal to eat.
- When you notice these things, it is possible to think about weaning the way you want, and you can start it, as we said a short while ago, at the age of six months (the World Health Organization does not recommend weaning the child before that).
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Breastfeeding