Why do women stop breastfeeding?

Just wondering what reasons some women here stop breastfeeding... I want to stricktly breast feed my baby but it is sooo hard and i end up giving him more bottles then breast.

Breastfeeding is not hard. It's one of the easiest things in the world to do .....but it's also one of the easiest things in the world to mess up. Lack of knowledge is the reason it goes wonky for most mothers. There are a few simple rules to follow but the trouble is that relatives, friends and even health professionals give incorrect advice and meddle with bottles, starting the whole thing on a slippery slope. Most of the time breastfeeding is going just fine, but the mother doesn't realise this and worries unnecessarily. To give just one common example, it is normal for a young baby to feed very frequently for very short times. Feeding for 5 mins at a time, twice an hour is quite normal. It is also quite normal for the baby to suddenly go for 2 or 3 hours without feeding. But for some reason new mums think that the baby should be feeding for 20 mins every 3 hours with perfect regularity and it isn't like that. So they panic, think they can't "make enough milk" and introduce bottles. That's the most common misconception, although there are others.

It's not a problem. Formula is there for those who want it, and those who truly want to breastfeed usually find out enough about it to succeed. However it is a huge problem that so many women talk about it being "difficult". It predisposes other new mothers to think they are doomed to failure and they are even more likely to give up.

i stopped breastfeeding cause my son wasnt satisfied with my milk and was on the boob ALL the time, to the point i never wanted to leave the house cause i'd have to pull over to feed, and shopping was horrific!

so i started by giving him formula 2-3 times a day and slowly but surely he weaned off without any shock as we did it gradually, that way my breasts got used to it and my milk just went down and i didnt get the painful 'gorging' result

my son was fully weaned by 3 months... i know ppl frown upon it but it was a decision that best suited me and my son. his routine is HEAPS better now and i can leave the house cause i know when he will be hungry

I breastfeed my baby girl till she was almost 7 months. I stopped because I wanted her to have a bottle. Personally i don't like to see a one year old on Mommy's boob. I think it becomes a Habit that is very hard to break. also I feel they are too old. I'm all for breastfeeding, by pumping milk, but I didn't have enough to pump after 7 months.

I found it very hard for myself to stopped, as I loved the bond that my daughter and I shared when i breastfeed her. But I felt it was the best decision for her. I didn't want her to be one or older running to Mommy for some milk.

Some find it hard for their body to make enough. Some women just "want their body back". And some find it hard to get their baby to latch on. So there can be many reasons. I'd say,if you really want to breastfeed and are having trouble,talk to your doctor or lactation consultant and ask for as much advice as you can before going to formula.

I strictly breast fed in the beginning, then when my son got a little older (4 months), I started supplementing with formula.

I never enjoyed breast feeding, I only did it for the health benefits to my son.

Eventually, I realized he preferred the bottle over the breast and so did I. That's when I stopped breast feeding =]

My ending the breast feeding was strictly a choice thing. My son and I both chose the bottle over the breast.

Breast feeding or bottle feeding is a choice. You don't have to have a 'reason' to stop breast feeding. Some women never even try breast feeding. To each their own.
Some women really do have problems with milk production so they are forced to stop, others have a great supply but *choose* to stop breast feeding and feel like they have to have a 'reason', so they make up an excuse. I've never been one of those people. I don't have an 'excuse' as to why I stopped breast feeding, I stopped because I chose to stop.
I'm also not one of the people who 'wishes I had stuck it out longer' .. lol, I'm the person who thinks 'wow, I'm glad I stuck it out as long as I did' =]

- 屑a褟泻's 蠅ifee -

With my 1st i stopped bcuz i wasnt producing enough milk, i was sooo pissed, i breastfed him for 2 months. Now with my 2nd im breastfeedding more since im producing milk, im also pumping ((:

I know its hard at times, bt if u really want dont give up my friend.
XO!

I stopped with my first after 3wks, I had lost my mum not long before and due to the stress I wasn't producing milk, and my daughter wasn't putting on the weight that she should have been,

with my son I stopped at 5 wks I missed it but no matter what i did I kept losing weight, dropped over 10kg;s in approx 2weeks (i didn't want to lose too much more) I was exhausted all the time, and the stress of it was too much, he was way happier on the bottle and so was I in the end, I hate being tired.

Do what is right for you, if you want to change to the bottle that is entirely up to you. happy mum equals a happy bub

i didnt stop breastfeeding. I am a total failure and i quit breastfeeding because I got fed up with not making enough milk and having to go through breast infection, nipple infection, my baby not latching on, having to take load of pain killer for complication during labor and after for about 2 months. I wish i stuck to it for couple more months... or even few more weeks actually.

My daughter is 10 months old and I am still breastfeeding. I was really hoping to feed her until she self weans but have now decided I will wean her at 12 months when she will be old enough to drink cows milk. My reason for this is because I am trying to conceive. And even though my baby eats solids and only nursers 4 times a day I am not cycling. Sigh. I have gone through so many pregnancy tests. It is hard to tell if you are pregnant when you dont have a period to miss.

my first i expressed breastmilk for 6months coz he was tougue tied and couldnt get on my boob right, im still breastfeeding my 5week old baby girl but with many sleepless nights i have thought about bottle feeding so dad can help with feedings but we cant affored it atm so i have to stick with breastfeeding which is better for her

Some women stop due to illness, some babies choose to wean themselves, and sometimes, women just don't want to breastfeed in the first place.

It's their business, as long as they feed there children, how they feed them is completly irrelevant.

because they want to.

its really of no ones business why they do.