When does a baby stop being breast fed?

Question

I'm not a mother but I saw an ad for baby formula and it got me thinking, how old is a baby normally before they stop being breast fed?

Answer 1

Most women who breastfeed do so exclusively for 6 months. After that, some women aim to have their children weaned completely by the age of 1 (seems to be a north american cultural thing). Many women however choose to let the baby get to an older age where they are better able to understand language to make the weaning process easier. I would imagine most of these women wean before 2 years, but it is not uncommon to go for 3 or even 4 years before weaning (in which case the child often self weans). It is all a matter of personal philosophy really...many women want weaning to be as easy for the child as possible so they want to wait. Most women who wean before the age of 1 do so on their terms, not their child's.

Answer 2

There really is no set answer. Everyone has a different opinion. I have 15 year old twins who were formula fed and a new baby ( almost 5 months) that I am breastfeeding. Most sources recommend breast feeding for 12 months and introducing solids by 5 to 6 months - but some say breast feed for as long as you can and some say even as few as 6 weeks are better than nothing. It was a little rough at first but everyone kept telling me to hang in there and it gets easier at about 6 weeks and they were right! I recently bought some formula to add to her cereal and for bottle emergencies while out and about and I found out how expensive formula is! My new baby is so happy and agreeable and we have virtually no colic and gas and I believe it's because of breast feeding. Good luck!

Answer 3

It really depends on the mom. The baby will take what ever makes him comfortable. If she does not want to continue breast feeding, she switches to formula, sometimes they do both at the same time, so little by little the baby will let go of the breast. It could take up to a year. I think most moms stop somewhere between 3 to 6 months, others go up to 9, and even 1 year. Others simply do not breast feed at all.

Answer 4

On baby will normally stop breastfeeding on their own terms between the ages of 2 and 3. This is when the mother is offering breastfeeds to the child without any negativity.

Most mothers stop breastfeeding between the ages of 1 and 2, for a number of reasons.

It is recommened by different organizations (and doctors) that breastfeeding go until atleast 1 years old, and others until 2.

Answer 5

Most babys can start eating a little 'soft' solids by 6 months, but they aren't normally weaned until about 9-10 months. The doctors normally recomend that you breastfeed your baby for as long as possible, since the monthers milk is so low in fat, but high in vitamins and antibiotics, also babys that are breastfed longer don't tend to get allergies when they're older as much.

(I'm really not sure how much the doctors recomend formula, other than you should never used regular cow milk on a baby...the health benefits really arent the same though, and breastfeeding is really the best way to go)

Basically its the mothers choice when to wean them

Answer 6

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends at least 1 year of breast feeding.* I think that's about a reasonable time to stop, but in some extreme cases, mothers have breastfed their children until the age of 5 or even 8 (that's the oldest I've heard of).

*Emphasis on "at least".

Answer 7

I stopped at 14 months. It is a personal choice but the recommendation is 1 year.

Answer 8

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Answer 9

that totally depends on the mother or the baby.. its recommended by the world health organization that you breastfeed for at least 2 full years.

Answer 10

It can vary, but stopping by age 2 is fairly common in the US