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Depends what kind of cow.
Beef cows are milked by their calves of course, but if the calf dies they can be left with a full udder. This is very uncomfortable indeed for a few days, then gradually goes down as they dry off.
Sometimes a very young calf will not need to suckle all four quarters, and the unsuckled ones then get very full.
Dairy cows produce very much more milk, perhaps five or more times as much. However, they often have looser sphincters on the milk openings than beef animals, so when very full they sometimes just dribble. Commercial dairy cattle are often given an injection of hormones to dry them off if necessary.
In each situation there is a risk of infection (mastitis) if not being milked out, and with this they can lose a quarter, or even die. There's a similar risk when the calf is weaning, and even in dry cows and heifers in the summer (summer mastitis).
We sometimes milk our (beef) girls out if their calf can't keep up, or when the calf is weaning. Once when the calf died we had our own milk and butter for six months (and lots of veal...).
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