How long did you breastfeed your baby for? What was your reason for not breastfeeding longer?

Question

I was just doing some reading on the net, and it says that only 36% of mothers breastfeed for up to 6 months, and only 17% for up to a year. Although at the hospital, more than half of mothers start out wanting to breastfeed. I wonder why it drops so much. I also wonder what we could do to help, so mothers can continue to nurse their little ones longer.

Thanks in advance for sharing.

dnlbottemiller: so you're the 0.0001% the survey mentioned. Wow!!

Connie, just to ease your mind, nobody breastfeeds their child for 10 years. The person that said that is a troll, and we all know that. Also, your baby doesn't turn into a calf once they get teeth, nor are they ready to start eating steak instead of milk. It's people like you that discourage breastfeeding mothers to do what's best for their child.

I'd like to thank everyone for sharing your experiences. I learned a lot from reading all of your answers.

Answer 1

I nursed my daughter for one year. I stopped because her pediatrician convinced me that cow's milk was necessary after that point. Looking back, its pretty idiodic. My baby didnt turn into a calf on her first birthday, so why would a cow's breastmilk be better than mine?

I've since done a lot of research on the subject. Humans are meant to breastfeed for longer than a year. Its the way we are designed. Children are meant to self-wean when ready. Worldwide, its perfectly normal to breastfeed for 2-7 years. Us americans just have too many hang-ups, and a lack of support.

If mothers took the time to be well-educated about breastfeeding, and would seek out support when needed, we would be far more successful at breastfeeding. Other countries dont need to be "taught" to breastfeed, but we've learned to ignore our instincts, and therefore often need more help. Misconceptions about formula vs breastfeeding are abundant. Formula was created to save the lives of babies who are born to mothers who truly cannot breastfeed. It is VERY rare for a woman to be physically incapable of nursing her child. But in cases of the mother's drug addicition, death, adoption, etc., formula is an option. Although donated breastmilk should be the 2nd choice to mother's own milk.

Women stop if they encounter difficulties, because they are lazy ("I want my husband to have to feed the baby too"), or because they simply beleive that formula is just as good as breastmilk. In fact, babies who are raised on formula are at greater risk of death in many forms.

The deadly influence of formula in america: http://www.naturalfamilyonline.com/articles/312-formula-report-2.htm

the risk of infant formula feeding: http://www.breastfeedingtaskforla.org/ABMRisks.htm

what every parent should know about infant formula: http://www.breastfeeding.com/reading_room/what_should_know_formula.html

A natural age of weaning:
http://www.kathydettwyler.org/detwean.html

The case for the virgin gut:
http://breastfeed.com/resources/articles/virgingut.htm

Extended Nursing: Is it for you?:
http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/toddler/toddlerbreastfeed/8496.html


I personally think that mothers should make a point on educating themselves about breastfeeding and formula before making that vital decision about their child's health. Most are not aware that the mortality rate for formula-fed babies is higher. They just think its a harmless choice, and doesnt effect their baby either way. And of course, the formula industry is all about money. Doctors are paid to promote them, and the medical communtiy as a whole doesnt truly want us to be healthier. The sicker we are, the more money they make.

Answer 2

I breastfed my first till she was almost 2 yrs, but of course after the 1st year she was trying real foods and whole milk. My second nursed for 18 mos, and the third I could only do for a year because I was working full time.
Yes, it hurts at first- even my own mom couldn't understand how I could nurse all my kids- she'd tried when she had my older sister and stopped cause she couldn't take it! Once you get going though, it's the easiest thing in the world- no warming, no bottles and cleanings.
I also co-slept with all my kids while they were nursing, so at night neither one of us would really wake up for feedings- they'd just start 'rooting' and I'd roll over and feed 'em. They all slept through the night within the first few months- with these 'sleepy feeds' slowly tapering off.
I think most women just don't get the support and approval they need to keep going- we say 'Breastfed is bestfed' but as a society treat women that do it in public like they're doing a lap dance for the preacher. I hope more women keep trying- public opinion can change, after all it's only been the last 60 years or so that breastfeeding been looked down on by the public- before formula came out, nursing was the ONLY way- so nobody thought anything bad about it.

Answer 3

It is recommended you do it atleast 12 months. I did it for 12 1/2 months then stopped because I needed to start meds that were unsafe while nursing. It was hard on me and him both to stop, was a great bonding experience for us because it was something i could give him but nobody else could. It is hard the first 3 months afte that it is so much better and I started to enjoy our little nursing sessions. Men that find it bad that long aren't raised around it so they just don't understand. He needs to go with you to meet with the lactation consultant so he can be told that it is a great and natural thing and that it is recommended until ATLEAST 12 months meaning that they really would prefer you go longer with occasional sessions but every day is a great thing. I just couldn't go past the 12 months because of the meds and well my son became obsessed with breasts lol he would pull my top down when he was getting thirsty so that was a little embaressing but I didn't have that problem until he turned a year old. Before that he was just fine about it. He just wants full rights back to your breasts, is your husband a breast man? My exhusband was like that and that was one reason he wasn't real supportive of me nursing our first son. He wasnt raised with it so he didn't understand it. Do what feels best for you. I regret stopping the nursing. With my first two boys I went to 3 months because of lack of support and they both got really sick after I stopped. With my 3rd son different father and he was 100% supportive of it and made it so much easier as did my family but when he was 12 1/2 months and completely stopped nursing he became really sick about a week later so I regretted stopping at that point. The longer you nurse the better for your baby and you. It reduces your risk of breastcancer which is a big plus. And it really helps build up the babies immune system. Again I would just take him with you to meet with the lacation consultant so they can tell him how wonderful it is to breastfeed and all the benefits for you and the baby because there are a lot of them.

Answer 4

Well I haven't stopped breastfeeding my son yet (he's 20 months and I'm 8 months pregnant).

However there are two things that are needed for a higher breastfeeding success rate, and the first is the MOST important:

EDUCATION: women and even more so doctors need actual information on breastfeeding. Seriously most doctors know less factual information about breastfeeding than the average 5 year old - I swear. And rather than just saying that they don't know and referring to a lactation consultant they just pass on the same old misinformation. Seriously I have heard some of the dumbest things from doctors about breastfeeding particularly reasons to stop/supplement.

Better maternity leave. Seriously you need at least 6 weeks to establish a milk supply and so many women don't even get that time.

Answer 5

My first son I nursed for 18 months, and weaned him due to his food allergies and the severe restrictions that put on my diet. My second son I nursed for only 12 months, and then stopped cold turkey, a very bad way to wean!!!! OUCH!! That was based on poor advise that it would keep him from waking up every 45 minutes during the night. He did not stop waking up and I missed the closeness. II must admit, I was not a big fan of breastfeeding, but I could not imagine using bottles. The cuddling is important. I think it imposed a wonderful degree of closeness that I would have not learned if I had not done it. I used to just say, "Mooooo" when I got bored, but neither of my boys would take a bottle at all so that was tough. I learned that at a very young age kids can learn to use a cup (rather than a bottle) so that worked for a short time with my second.
I found that it was socially awkward for some people when I nursed, though I am very modest. I just decided early on that they had to make a mental adjustment since what I was doing was right and not anything like a pole dancer would do. We could make it easier for women by getting rid of the connotation that breasts are there for men to look at more than they are for feeding our babies. Don't ask me how we can accomplish that one though!!

Answer 6

With my first I only breastfed him for 7 weeks....and only a handful of those days were exclusively breastfed...most had at least one "supplemental" bottle of formula. I freely admit that I quit nursing because I was not educated or prepared for how hard those first weeks of breastfeeding were going to be. I never once expected something that was so natural to be so HARD. And I think that is a problem a lot of women have.

But, I now have baby #2. As soon as I found out I was pregnant I knew that I would be successful with breastfeeding, because I wouldn't give up, and I knew what to expect. He is now 10 1/2 months old....and still nursing. He has never once been given formula. I plan on continuing until he decides to wean.

Answer 7

after trying to breastfeed i started to pump and bottle feed for four months. I work full time and i am a full time student and it began to become very difficult because I was too stressed and pumping was uncomfortable at school and work. If there was a better place to pump at work and school i probably would have gone for longer. its hard to say what you can do because its a personal choice. breastfeeding is the best thing for baby but so many people are uneducated about the issue and think formula is easier. personally i found it hard the first few days because my own mother kept on saying i could just formula feed the only reason she started telling me to keep on bf was because her friend told her i could lose weight faster. If parents and there family were more educated on the benefits of bf and if the workplace was more nursing mom friendly than it would be much easier. I wish i just felt less guilty about stopping but i look at my daughter and see how healthy she is and how much happier i am and realize it was the best choice for my family. I do believe that women should bf as long as they can.

Answer 8

I breastfed for 15 months. She didn't want to breastfeed anymore. She couldn't sit still for it, she was eating solid food and drinking milk. It was the perfect length for her.

Working and breastfeeding is a challenge. I worked full time but the company I worked for provided a clean, hygenic place and an electric pump and noone ever complained about my lengthy breaks. I have heard about women pumping in cars and bathroom stalls etc, which must be hard. I think that must be why many women stop, formula can be easier and allows more freedom.

Answer 9

I breastfed my oldest for 13 months
My middle child for 14 months and I'm breastfeeding my 3 month old now (and plan to do so for at least one year).
I know that societal pressure had a lot ot do with why I didn't do it longer. Around 10 months old, the grandparents start nagging. I could hush everyone up by sharing that Pediatricians recommend at least a year.

Answer 10

My daughter will be four months tomorrow and we are breastfeeding. I do work full time and go to school part time so when she is at the sitter or with her daddy she does take a bottle but it's only pumped breastmilk. I am grateful to have a breastpump and I am grateful to have a job that I can just shut my office door whenever I need to pump. I do still nurse her when I am with her but pump when I am at work. I do agree with one of the lady's above about the weight loss thing. I only gained 8 pounds during my pregancy but within a few weeks of having her I lost a total of 28lbs. I do really believe that the breastfeeding helped me lose my pregnancy weight plus a bunch. I guess my whole take on the breastfeeding thing is that it is the best thing you can give to your baby. Alot of people complain and say it's inconvient. But I guess my comment to that is, "If you breastfeed your baby for a year, it's a year of your life that has to be inconvenienced to give them the best thing possible" But in the end I really think it comes down to each individuals choice. I don't look down on people that give their baby's formula, that was just their choice. So, I don't think it's right for people to look down on women who breastfeed.

Answer 11

I breastfed my first child for 7 weeks. She had some problems with latching on and later turned out to have some other feeding problems. I worked at that time and even though I only worked 3 days a week, they were 12 hour shifts and I was unable to pump at my job. My husband stayed home with my daughter on those days. I think that 7 weeks is still good, and even though I changed her to formula at 7 weeks I still consider that she was breastfed.

With my second child I breastfed for 14 months. He never had any of the feeding issues that his sister had and I wasn't working at all when I had him. We stopped breastfeeding because he lost interest in it and self weaned.

I think with my first child I would have had to stop the breastfeeding anyway, but I wish that I could have pumped and fed her breast milk exclusively instead of formula. I just couldn't pump for 4 days and then go 3 days without pumping. But I still think she got lots of benefits of breastfeeding.