Edamisan Temiye, a consultant paediatrician and lecturer at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), has dismissed the belief that breast milk becomes sour when a baby stops breastfeeding for several days.

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Mr Temiye made the assertion in an interview on Monday in Lagos, on the sidelines of a lecture organised by the paediatric department of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) to mark World Breastfeeding Week.

He described as false the belief that breast milk could become soured or contaminated inside the mother’s breast if not consumed by the baby.

“Breast milk cannot be soured as may be the belief of some people. How can it be soured inside the mother – a living body?.

“That belief is wrong. If the breast is soured/contaminated, the mother will be sick,” he said.

He explained that breast milk is produced through a natural demand-and-supply process, saying that the milk remains safe inside the mother’s breast even when breastfeeding is temporarily discontinued.

He added that the more frequently a baby suckled, the more milk the mother’s body produced, while a reduction in breastfeeding would gradually reduce milk production.

“Breast milk is produced on demand. It is simple physiology. If a woman continues producing breast milk when the breast is not being emptied via suckling, the breast will become engorged and painful.

“Nature does not want anything like that to happen. So, the production of breast milk is dependent on the baby’s demand.

“Unfortunately, some mothers claim that the breast milk is not coming out, to deprive babies of breast milk in replacement for artificial milk. If the baby is demanding regularly and sucking frequently, at least 30 to 40 minutes intervals, the mother will produce more free rushing milk,” he said.

Mr Temiye, however, said the quantity of breast milk produced immediately after childbirth is usually small but sufficient to meet the newborn’s needs.

According to him, the first milk, known as colostrum, is produced during the first few days after delivery and is rich in protein, water and antibodies that help protect newborns against infections.

He emphasised that failure of a baby to suckle regularly would eventually lead to a reduction in milk production.

On weaning, Mr Temiye said mothers might experience breast fullness, engorgement, heat and pain when they abruptly stop breastfeeding.

He explained that the discomfort occurred because the body initially continued producing milk based on the baby’s previous feeding pattern.

“When the baby stops breastfeeding, and the mother is still producing as if the baby is demanding it, the breast will become full and painful.

“But if the baby stops, after about three days, the pain will start to go down gradually. By one week, it should have reduced significantly because the baby is no longer sucking,” he said.

The paediatrician urged mothers to understand the natural process of breastfeeding and avoid myths that could discourage them from giving their babies breast milk.