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2006-08-29 03:18:34 · 24 answers · asked by AlongthePemi 6 in Pregnancy & Parenting Other - Pregnancy & Parenting

Yes, I am talking about breastfeeding and the many suggestions I hear and see that say that breastfeeding beyond 12 months is wrong. I am breastfeeding my son who is 27 months.

2006-08-29 03:32:29 · update #1

24 answers

I don't think there is any proof. But it would sure make your life a whole lot easier. Once a child is able to eat normal food and is able to hold a bottle, I think that you should let/make them do so. This way, you can go about your day without having to stop to breast feed. Our child can get all the nutrients and vitamins they need from normal food and cow milk.

If you're doing it for the comfort and quality time. You can always get that time with them by giving them a bottle and rocking them to sleep or reading them a bed-time story.

2006-08-29 03:25:55 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3 2

The plain fact of the matter is that EVERY irrefutable study ever conducted has shown the opposite: that children benefit from nursing beyond 12 months, and the potential for certain ilnesses is increased by weaning earlier than age 2.

Those who say children "need" to be weaned after one year (or even before one year!) are speaking from an outdated and unhealthy social climate where feeding infants the way they are biologically designed to eat has been replaced with an inferior (though adequate, in cases when it is necessary) substitute. The ancient and beautiful art of breastfeeding has been lost for several generations, along with the wisdom and common sense of natural weaning. We are slowly regaining this loss, but it has been a long hard battle.

The progress we make today benefits our daughters and our grandchildren! I hope by the time my grandchildren are givingbirth to their babies that breastfeeding will be more common than bottles, and the dirty looks and rude comments willl be such ancient history people will find old ragged "nursing burkas" in grandma's attic and not have a clue why such a thing would be used.

2006-08-29 12:52:38 · answer #2 · answered by Kathryn A 3 · 1 1

Go you!! I'm breastfeeding a 14 month old and people think I've gone on too long. There is nothing wrong with extending that bond with your baby as long as you're both comfortable with it, however I do believe that between 2-3 years is the time to stop. The medical reason is that humans produce lactase (?), a digestive enzyme that helps the body digest milk proteins, only until about age 3. Most humans stop or slow the production of this enzyme around 3 years old, which suggests that is the natural time to take a child off of milk whether it be mom's or cows. This is also why there's a lot of digestive problems and lactose intolerance is becoming more widely recognized as a problem. Unfortunately, we live in a society that is so addicted to dairy it is in EVRERYTHING we eat and most of us (myself included) are not educated as to how to have a healthy dairy free diet and still get the protein we need, since our bodies weren't designed to digest cow's milk. Don't get me wrong, I'm a total cheese and dairy addict, despite knowing all that stuff about it, but call me a product of society, right? In a small town it's really hard to get what's necessary for a truly healthy way of eating... anyway...

So the point of all this, while I may have gotten some of the technical details wrong, (I'm paraphrasing from my college chemistry class I took last year) is that medical studies point more towards extending the nursing period rather than shortening it. A study of many native groups who have not adapted their societies into mainstream ways of thinking (such as native alaskan tribes) shows an average weaning age of 2.9 years. Our babies were born to breastfeed and if anybody has a problem with it, well that's their problem.

2006-08-29 11:45:54 · answer #3 · answered by Killer Curvz 5 · 2 1

I cannot help you with proof that they should be, however, I have always been told and it is my own personal belief that you should breastfeed as long as possible or as long as you feel comfortable with it. The only time I have ever heard a doctor say 'you should not breastfeed anymore' was when the mother became pregnant again. In which case breastfeeding causes your uterus to contract and could send you into preterm labor. However, there are not enough cases of this happening for there to be any real cause for concern. I, regretfully, stopped brestfeeding at eight weeks and have a beautiful healthy girl. My advice, do not let anybody tell you your child has been breastfeeding for too long. Just smile and say ' I prefer to do it this way.'

2006-08-29 10:47:01 · answer #4 · answered by littlemiss4705 2 · 1 1

There is absolutely no reason why you have to wean your child at 12 months! Especially if you are still enjoying it and not having any problems. Women today are just often 'too busy' to make the long-term investment. But even the swaviest professional mother can nurse for at least 3 months before getting off of maternity leave (every bit makes a difference).

Children can be nursed up to 3 years even. Teeth (you can teach them not to bite) or eating regular food is no reason to stop, you are only strengthening your child's immune system. The only thing you need to worry about are your feelings and your baby's feelings (and perhaps your partner's feelings if it is interrupting your personal affairs). I'll give you examples of what I mean from my own experiences.

I have two daughters both of which I nursed and they reacted totally differently to the weaning process. With my first child I was home 3 months before I started university studies but she never saw milk that wasn't mine. I took a little lunch bag with an ice pack and froze the milk when I got home for the next day. By the second semester I was getting tired of this but I left the ultimate choice up to the baby. I stopped pumping milk and she didn't complain. She was fine and almost self-weaned.

My second daughter was a different story. I was home only 1 month before I went back to study. I did the same thing with the pumping but when I was ready to stop pumping, she just waited until I got home to nurse. And it went on like that until she was almost 2. My policy was, when they are old enough to tell tales then it's time to go (smile). She was coming in my bed every night and I thought it would become a bad habit so I had a struggle with her to keep her out of my room at night and to wean her but it wasn't traumatic just a longer process.

I also know many women who have nursed their children for years and there is evidence that children who nurse longer are actually more confident later on.

2006-08-29 10:49:35 · answer #5 · answered by shosha_tiqo 2 · 2 1

I don't see any proof anywhere that a child should be weaned at 12 mos. I never nursed past a year but will nurse this last baby past that if he so desires. I believe it's recommended til at least 2.

The people who say a child should wean probably were never breastfed or not breastfed long enough..probably jealous their mothers didn't give a crap and in turn they don't give a crap about their own children

2006-08-29 11:10:07 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2 1

if the child is that old, then yes, he should be weaned. but it all really depends on your comfort level and the reasons why you are still breastfeeding at that age. Does it help you fell better about being a mother, woman, feeling needed and wanted.....
at some point it could harm the child emotionally down the road.. as an adult. i understand your wanting to provide the best for your child, but a child that old that can ask for the boobie is old enough to wean.

2006-08-29 11:42:09 · answer #7 · answered by bakken girl 2 · 1 2

I'm assuming you're talking about breastfeeding (I hope you are). There is no reason a baby should be weaned at a year. The AMA recommends *at least* one year of breastfeeding, and as long thereafter as mother and child want to. There aren't any drawbacks, since the baby is getting far better nutrients through breastmilk than it could through baby food, adult food, or formula (yuck).

2006-08-29 10:30:35 · answer #8 · answered by ChiChi 6 · 3 1

Sorry but I can't find any! I'm going to nurse my little girl until SHE wants to stop. If she can approach me and ask for it using grammatically correct sentences then she will STILL get it. Our society needs to get over it and accept the fact that breastfeeding is best and we're going to do it whether they like it or not. I hope as more and more people become educated about it, it won't be such a big deal by the time my daughter has nurslings of her own!!!

2006-08-29 10:34:18 · answer #9 · answered by all_my_armour_falling_down 4 · 2 2

American doctors say 12 months, and we have the highest survival rate of babies/children. So even in the countries where people breastfeed until 3-5 their kids are not lving as long or as healthy! My son was a preemie and I pumped breastmilk for him for the 10 weeks he was in the hospital and then when he came home he was on formula, and he is now 2 years-old and comepletely healthy, and very active...no delays, and nothing worse than a cold!

2006-08-29 10:34:17 · answer #10 · answered by Ryan's mom 7 · 1 2

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