What is Baby Nursing Strike?

Breastfeeding is the most favorite thing of babies, at times babies find it so hard to stop. When your infant is feeding happily it means your little one is healthy. But, most of the mommies have reported that their babies refuse to breastfeed and go on a nursing strike. What is it?

It is rare among the neonatal who refuse to breastfeed, but babies of any age group could refuse to breastfeed. Well, if all of a sudden your baby refuses to breastfeed even if he is set with the schedule, you need to consult with the doctor. There are various reasons for the elder kids to reject breastfeeding and go on the nursing strike. This could be worrisome for mothers, but luckily it is not a permanent habit. After some efforts, moms can get their babies back to breastfeeding.

What are Self-weaning and Nursing Strike?

Self-weaning happens when babies stop breastfeeding on their own. This is a normal thing, as when babies grow up and start to eat solid foods, they usually stop breastfeeding as they have now become more independent. Self-weaning occurs most probably after one year.

A nursing strike is a condition in which babies refuse to breastfeed all of a sudden without any reason. They deny to do it anymore. Nursing strikes confuse with self-weaning, and it is hard to decide whether the baby is on self-wean or nursing strike.

The difference between these both conditions is that self-weaning occurs with time slowly, and nursing strike happens suddenly. If you see your baby breastfeeding at night time and declines to do it in the morning or vice versa, it is the sign of a nursing strike.

Identifying Nursing Strike

According to the researchers being done on breastfeeding, babies used to breastfeed around eight to twelve times in 24 hours, and it drops as they grow up. Normally, newborns refuse to breastfeed one or times when they are of four months, but if they start refusing it four or five times in 24 hours, it is the indication of a nursing strike.

Another indication of the nursing strike is that, if you change the wet diapers number of times in a day, it means that they have got enough milk. If you are changing at least six or eight wet nappies in a day or five heavily wet nappies with pale and odorless urine, it implies that the baby is fully nourished and well-fed.

When you know the reasons for a nursing strike, you can easily find ways to work on it and get your baby back to the routinely breastfeeding schedule.

Reasons for Nursing Strike

When babies refuse to breastfeed in four months, there is some reason that makes them do so. It is not true that the reason could always be the same and accurate, you should keep asking the doctor about the nursing strike. The common reasons are;

Reasons from baby’s side: When babies are having congestion, constipation, gastroesophageal reflux disease, distraction, uncomfortable feelings, or they are teething, they usually refuse to breastfeed.

Reasons from the mother’s side: When babies sense the stress, the mother is smelling different, mothers panic when babies bite, and if there is a change in routine.

Milk-related problems: Change in breastmilk, which could occur due to hormonal changes, insufficient milk supply, and sometimes baby goes on nursing strike when there is a lot of milk supply, and it became hard for them to control the flow.