Benefits of Extended Breastfeeding
- “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2008 breastfeeding report card found that since 2000, breastfeeding of newborns has increased from 64 to 74 percent, and from 29 to 43 percent at six months. However, at one year, only 21 percent of babies continue to be breastfed.”
- Breastfeeding mothers reduce their risk of ovarian, uterine, thyroid and endometrial cancer.
- More specifically, studies found a significant inverse association between duration of lactation and breast cancer risk. Looking at the information for 47 international studies reveals that “for every year a woman breastfeeds, she reduces her risk of breast cancer by an average of 4.3 percent … For example, if you had three children and nursed them each for two years, your risk for breast cancer would be reduced by 46.8 percent. In fact, one study found that women who’ve nursed for six years or more reduced their risk of breast cancer by as much as a 63 percent. The multi-study report estimated that breast cancer rates could be cut by more than half if women increased their lifetime breastfeeding duration.”
- Mothers who breastfeed also reduce the risk of rheumatoid arthritis and are protected against osteoporosis. Breastfeeding may also help prevent lupus and obesity.
- “For each year of breastfeeding, a woman decreases her chances of getting type 2 diabetes by 15 percent, reported a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2005. So if we consider the woman from the aforementioned example, in her six years of breastfeeding she’s earned a 90 percent reduction in her risk of developing diabetes.” Breastfeeding decreases insulin needs in women already diagnosed with diabetes.
“We need to help mothers understand that extended breastfeeding does matter,” says Stacy Kucharczk, a certified lactation consultant and pediatric nurse. “I often point out to mothers that the studies demonstrating the benefits of breastfeeding often show a dose-related effect, as in some breast milk is good, but more is better.”
The article also highlights that research illustrates breastfeeding reduces the likelihood and/or intensity of the following childhood (and possibly also adult) illnesses:
- Ear infections
- Bacterial meningitis
- Respiratory infections and viruses
- Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
- Asthma
- Allergies (nasal and skin)
- Urinary tract infections
- Gastrointestinal infections
- Diarrhea
- Lymphomas, leukemia and Hodgkin’s disease
- Autoimmune thyroid disease
- Type 1 and type 2 diabetes
- Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease
- Necrotizing enterocolitis
- Multiple sclerosis
- Obesity
- Bacteremia
- Celiac disease
- Botulism
- Pneumonia
- Lung disease
- High blood pressure
- Anxiety/stress
- Bed-wetting
- Nearsightedness
- Increased intellectual, developmental, and cognitive aptitude
Aside from the Nursing by Numbers article there is extensive research illustrating the benefits of extended breastfeeding. Nursing continues as a valuable source of nutrition and disease protection throughout the breastfeeding relationship. According to Dewey, in the second year (12-23 months), 448 ml of breast milk provides:
- 29% of energy requirements
- 43% of protein requirements
- 36% of calcium requirements
- 75% of vitamin A requirements
- 76% of folate requirements
- 94% of vitamin B12 requirements
- 60% of vitamin C requirements
It has also been shown that breastfeeding has a positive influence on cognitive development and improves IQ scores and grades in school. The greatest gains were among those children breastfed the longest. According to Sally Kneidel, “Research reports on the psychological aspects of nursing are scarce. One study that dealt specifically with babies nursed longer than a year showed a significant link between the duration of nursing and mothers’ and teachers’ ratings of social adjustment in six- to eight-year-old children. In the words of the researchers, ‘There are statistically significant tendencies for conduct disorder scores to decline with increasing duration of breastfeeding.” Elizabeth N. Baldwin continues discussing toddlers saying “breastfeeding is a warm and loving way to meet the needs of toddlers and young children. It not only perks them up and energizes them; it also soothes the frustrations, bumps and bruises, and daily stresses of early childhood. In addition, nursing past infancy helps little ones make a gradual transition to childhood … Meeting a child’s dependency needs is the key to helping that child achieve independence. And children outgrow these needs according to their own unique timetable.”
I have seen this with my own son. He has been breastfed for 26 months and is fiercely independent compared to most children his age and perfectly happy to entertain himself because he knows he can come and connect with me through nursing any time he wants. When friends recently babysat Connor overnight for the first time, they were so impressed at how well-adjusted he is compared to other kids they have cared for at the same age. She described him as content, secure and stable as well as focused, calm and flexible. I think one of the main contributing factors to this is extended breastfeeding.
Here’s what the experts have to say:
- Scientific research by Katherine A. Dettwyler, PhD shows that the minimum age children should nurse is two and a half.
- The American Academy of Family Physicians state children weaned before two years of age are at increased risk of illness. Gulick reported that breastfed toddlers between the ages of 16 and 30 months get sick less and for shorter period compared to those that were not breastfed. This is because there are abundant antibodies in breast milk throughout lactation. Some of the immunities passed via breast milk have an increased concentration in the second year of nursing and during weaning.
- The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that “breastfeeding should be continued for at least the first year of life and beyond for as long as mutually desired by mother and child… Increased duration of breastfeeding confers significant health and developmental benefits for the child and the mother… 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 says “breastfeeding beyond the first year offers considerable benefits to both mother and child, and should continue as long as mutually desired.”
- The World Health Organization encourages breastfeeding for at least two years or more.
Extended breastfeeding is beneficial to both mammas and their babies. I am glad my son and I enjoy it so much. I am trying to savor the experience as I know I’ll miss breastfeeding him when he decides to wean. I hope this article gives moms out there the confidence backed up by scientific proof to continue nursing their babies despite any pressure they feel to wean. It is wonderful to see that “breast is best” and continues to be so for both mother and baby the longer you breastfeed. My hope is that mothers will continue to nursing their children as long as they want to and attitudes to extended breastfeeding around the world will become more accepting. Show this article to your husband, extended families and friends so that everyone will know the value of your continued commitment to breastfeed your child.
References:
Dewey KG. Nutrition, Growth, and Complementary Feeding of the Breastfed Infant. Pediatric Clinics of North American. February 2001;48(1).
Gulick EE. The effects of breastfeeding on toddler health. Pediatr Nurs. 1986 Jan-Feb;12(1):51-4.
Hamosh M, Dewey, Garza C, et al: Nutrition During Lactation. Institute of Medicine, Washington, DC, National Academy Press, 1991, pp. 133-140.
Goldman AS et al. Immunologic components in human milk during weaning. Acta Paediatr Scand. 1983 Jan;72(1):133-4.
Goldman AS, Goldblum RM, Garza C. Immunologic components in human milk during the second year of lactation. Acta Paediatr Scand. 1983 May;72(3):461-2.
Mortensen EL, Michaelsen KF, Sanders SA, Reinisch JM. The Association Between Duration of Breastfeeding and Adult Intelligence. JAMA. 2002;287:2365-2371.
Baldwin, EN. Extended Breastfeeding and the Law. Mothering 1993 (Spring);66:88.
American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Breastfeeding. Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk. Pediatrics. Feb 2005;115(2): 496-50.
The American Academy of Family Physicians. Position Paper on Breastfeeding. 2001.
World Health Organization. Global strategy on infant and young child feeding. 16 April 2002.
World Health Organization. Innocenti Declaration: World Declaration and
Plan of Action for Nutrition. Rome, December 1992.
http://www.kathydettwyler.org/detwean.html
Sally Kneidel. “Nursing Beyond One Year”. New Beginnings, Vol. 6 No. 4, July-August 1990, pp. 99-103.
