When to wean the baby...

Recently we had a discussion on our Facebook page about 'extended' breastfeeding (extended meaning anything beyond the U.S. average duration of 6 months). A sampling of the responses were:

"I would say that after 3, that is too long";



"I would not be horrified to see a mother breastfeeding her toddler child. There are so many benefits to extended breastfeeding."



"I think if the 'baby' can un-do your bra, that's too long!"



While around 77% of moms in the U.S. breastfeed for some period of time, 43% were breastfeeding at 6 months, and 21% at 12 months. There is a surprising lack of data on breastfeeding rates after 1 year of age, partly because the company that has been the main compiler of breastfeeding rates, Ross Laboratories, only measures data up to 12 months because that is their target group for formula marketing, and I suspect that not many people focus much attention on toddler nursing because the percentages of U.S. moms doing it are lower and because just getting moms to nurse for at least the first 12 months has been enough of a challenge.



So how long to nurse? The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding for at least 2 years. It's not so unusual in other countries to nurse 2 years and beyond. The American Academy of Pediatrics takes a conservative stance and recommends breastfeeding for at least the first year. The tremendous health benefits of nursing do not stop at 1 or 2 years of age. They continue for the duration and have life-long health benefits. Not only does breastfeeding protect against ear infections, gastrointestinal ailments, diabetes, Crohn's Disease, Celiac Disease, leukemia, arthritis, obesity and osteoporosis, (and so much more!) but breastfeeding protects both mother and baby against breast cancer. Did you know that breastfeeding for 7 years total or longer reduces your risk of breast cancer to almost zero? I truly believe that this is the American Cancer Society's most under-utilized pieces of information!



So why do we wean so early? The top reasons are societal views and norms, education (less educated women tend to breastfeed for a shorter amount of time), and lack of support and education in breastfeeding. The US has so many working moms and that certainly has an impact on duration of breastfeeding. Generally, babies of working moms receive artificial nipples for a portion of the day and artificial nipples (including pacifiers) result in earlier weaning.



Kathleen Detwyler, Ph.D, has done a lot of amazing research on breastfeeding and has come up with this: "The minimum predicted age for a natural age of weaning in humans is 2.5 years with a maximum of 7 years." For some very interesting reading, visit her website and read her fascinating research! http://www.kathydettwyler.org/
Comments, thoughts & opinions?