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Myths: Breastfeeding Past Infancy
By Kelly Bonyata, BS, IBCLC
| MYTH: | Breastfeeding a child older than a year is no different than breastfeeding a young infant. |
| FACT: | Nursing frequency and duration varies widely from child
to child after the first year. As time passes, and as the
nutritional aspects of breastfeeding become less significant,
the comfort aspect of breastfeeding becomes much more significant.
Children also incorporate breastfeeding into their play, which
can add a new dimension to the breastfeeding relationship. |
| MYTH: | Mother’s milk becomes less nutritious after the first year. |
| FACT: | Mother’s milk continues to provide substantial amounts
of nutrients well beyond the first year. At some point your
baby will need to take in nutrients from other sources, but
mother’s milk remains a valuable contribution to your
child’s diet. |
| MYTH: | The immunities in mother’s milk are insignificant after the first few months. |
| FACT: | The immunities in mother’s milk continue as long as
nursing continues, and some of the immunities increase in concentration
as baby moves toward weaning. Children who are breastfed have
fewer illnesses and illnesses of shorter duration than their
non-nursing peers. The American
Academy of Family Physicians notes that children weaned
before two years of age are at increased risk of illness. |
| MYTH: | Extended breastfeeding makes a child overly dependent and can cause psychological harm. |
| FACT: | On the contrary, meeting a child’s need for breastfeeding
fosters independence on the child’s own developmental
timetable. Both research and the experiences of mothers worldwide
indicate that children who nurse past a year have excellent
social adjustment. Per the American
Academy of Pediatrics, “There is no upper limit to
the duration of breastfeeding and no evidence of psychologic
or developmental harm from breastfeeding into the third year
of life or longer.” The American
Academy of Family Physicians notes that the natural age of weaning in humans has been estimated to be between 2 and 7 years, and adds "There is no evidence that extended breastfeeding is harmful to mother or child." |
| MYTH: | Mothers who breastfeed past infancy have not learned other ways of comforting their child. |
| FACT: | For the typical extended breastfeeding mother, breastfeeding
is only one of many tools in her parenting toolkit. |
| MYTH: | Mothers only continue breastfeeding past infancy for their own benefit. |
| FACT: | A child will not breastfeed if he does not have a need to
do so. A mother typically continues breastfeeding because her
child is not ready to wean, and because of the continuing health
and emotional benefits to her child. |
| MYTH: | Breastfeeding mothers need to wean for fertility to return. Breastfeeding during pregnancy is not safe. |
| FACT: | Most mothers can get pregnant while continuing breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding is considered compatible with a healthy pregnancy. |
| MYTH: | The longer you breastfeed, the harder it will be to wean. |
| FACT: | Age has much less to do with ease of weaning than does your child's developmental readiness for weaning. Each child has his own developmental timeline for child-led weaning. If mom initiates weaning, then the closer the child is to weaning on his own, the easier it will be (for both mom and child) to accelerate this natural progression. If the child takes the lead in weaning, then this is not an issue at all. |
Page last modified:
11/12/2010
Written: 10/15/04
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