Doubt In Breast Feeding

I would like to kindly and respectfully say that breastfeeding after 1 year has considerable nutritional benefits and is not for comfort only. Lots of research studies have shown these benefits.

Weaning the child from breast milk at 6 months/1 year mark is a modern concept (last ~50 years). Prior to that children were breastfed on an average to about 3 yrs to 7yrs all over the world. Unfortunately most pediatricians are not pro-breastfeeding and hence educate mothers incorrectly. Also BFing toddler while a new baby is born and begins BFing is also common around the world (as long as mother is physically and emotionally comfortable doing it)

Quoting from Breastfeeding Past Infancy: Fact Sheet • KellyMom.com:

- Breastfeeding toddlers between the ages of one and three have been found to have fewer illnesses, illnesses of shorter duration, and lower mortality rates (Mølbak 1994, van den Bogaard 1991, Gulick 1986).

- 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.

- The World Health Organization emphasizes the importance of nursing up to two years of age or beyond (WHO 1993, 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).

Extended breastfeeding also has numerous benefits for the mother's health:

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

• Breastfeeding also reduces the risk of ovarian cancer (References), uterine cancer (References), and 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 reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease (References).

• Breastfeeding has been shown to decrease insulin requirements in diabetic women. There is also a decreased risk of Type 2 diabetes mellitus in mothers who do not have a history of gestational diabetes (References).

• Breastfeeding moms may lose weight easier (References).