How to Detach Baby Comfortably from the Breast

One of the most helpful things to learn before you first breastfeed is how to detach bub from the breast if he doesn't just fall off himself in a ripely full state.

It's an important skill that will help protect your nipples from damage.

If your baby has fed well and has finished feeding, she will often turn her head and shake herself loosely from the breast and nipple. If this doesn't happen and bub seems asleep, you can try this manouevre to take her off safely. The sucking reflex in babies is very dominant though and it will likely trigger her to suck if she feels the breast being drawn out of her mouth. Even if asleep.

If babies continue to suckle with suction as a mother is trying to simply pull or drag her breast out, the superficial layers of the nipple called the epithelium can be stretched and broken and the deeper layers called the stroma damaged and bruised.

To protect your nipples, insert your clean finger in-between bubs gum ridges to break the seal of her suction, then use a definite and quick sweep of the breast back towards your chest with your thumb or other fingers, while you continue to hold the gums apart. It might feel awkward the first time, but it becomes second nature with practice.
Remember - it's really important to feel confident and in control of this action. You have to act with deliberate movement, so don't be hesitant about it.

If bub is continuing to slowly and rhythmically suck in short and softer bursts though at the end of a feed, while she appears to be falling asleep, it is possible that she is still feeding and drawing down on the more concentrated milk in the breast. We no longer talk about "foremilk' or 'hindmilk' as if babies have to drain the breast to get to the milk that is rich in fat. This is because we know through research that the fat concentration of milk is fairly uniform, peaking in the beginning of the feed. As the liquid component of milk dwindles down though, the ratio of the fat to liquid is greater. So, let bub have a slow finish to the feed if that is what she seems to be wanting, as she is still drawing calories for her effort.