Extended Breastfeeding

I nursed Monkey for 18 months and Big C is 16 months and still nursing 3 times per day. This is right for our family. We believe that breastfeeding is the optimal way to feed babies and a great supplement to a toddlers diet. When will Big C wean? I don't know, you'll have to ask him.

So why do we do it? For a number of reasons including, but not limited to the following:

Extensive research on the relationship between cognitive achievement (IQ scores, grades in school) and breastfeeding has shown the greatest gains for those children breastfed the longest. References

• The American Academy of Family Physicians notes that children weaned before two years of age are at increased risk of illness (AAFP 2001).



• Nursing toddlers between the ages of 16 and 30 months have been found to have fewer illnesses and illnesses of shorter duration than their non-nursing peers (Gulick 1986).



• "Antibodies are abundant in human milk throughout lactation" (Nutrition During Lactation 1991; p. 134). In fact, some of the immune factors in breastmilk increase in concentration during the second year and also during the weaning process. (Goldman 1983, Goldman & Goldblum 1983, Institute of Medicine 1991).



• Per the World Health Organization, "a modest increase in breastfeeding rates could prevent up to 10% of all deaths of children under five: Breastfeeding plays an essential and sometimes underestimated role in the treatment and prevention of childhood illness."



• Many studies have shown that one of the best ways to prevent allergies and asthma is to breastfeed exclusively for at least 6 months and continue breastfeeding long-term after that point. Breastfeeding can be helpful for preventing allergy by:
  1-reducing exposure to potential allergens (the later baby is exposed, the less likely that there will be an allergic reaction),
  2-speeding maturation of the protective intestinal barrier in baby's gut, 3-coating the gut and providing a barrier to potentially allergenic molecules,4- providing anti-inflammatory properties that reduce the risk of infections (which can act as allergy triggers). References
  


• A US Surgeon General has stated that it is a lucky baby who continues to nurse until age two. (Novello 1990)



• The World Health Organization emphasizes the importance of nursing up to two years of age or beyond (WHO 1992, WHO 2002).



• Scientific research by Katherine A. Dettwyler, PhD shows that 2.5 to 7.0 years of nursing is what our children have been designed to expect (Dettwyler 1995).
  References [see also position statements supporting breastfeeding]

Bennys for moms

• Breastfeeding reduces the risk of breast cancer (References). Studies have found a significant inverse association between duration of lactation and breast cancer risk.



• Breastfeeding reduces the risk of ovarian cancer (References).



• Breastfeeding reduces the risk of uterine cancer (References).



• Breastfeeding reduces the risk of endometrial cancer (References).



• Breastfeeding protects against osteoporosis. During lactation a mother may experience decreases of bone mineral. A nursing mom's bone mineral density may be reduced in the whole body by 1 to 2 percent while she is still nursing. This is gained back, and bone mineral density may actually increase, when the baby is weaned from the breast. This is not dependent on additional calcium supplementation in the mother's diet. (References).



• Breastfeeding reduces the risk of rheumatoid arthritis. (References).



• Breastfeeding has been shown to decrease insulin requirements in diabetic women (References).



• Breastfeeding moms tend to lose weight easier (References).

If you do a google search and you'll see lots more reasons why people breastfeed their children for the amount of time that is right for thier families.