Breastfeeding. Yes, we still to that.

It has been quite some time since I wrote a post about breastfeeding.  Sadly, my lack of posts on the subject is largely due to Addisyn getting older.  She is getting to an age where many people in our society begin looking at mothers of breastfeeding toddlers as if they have 3 eyes and are speaking in tongues when they say that their little one is still breastfeeding.  She is at the age where people begin asking "you're still breastfeeding her?"  Or "how long are you going to breastfeed her?"

Don't get me wrong, I don't find myself avoiding the subject because I think it's wrong or strange to breastfeed my now-18-month old.  Breastfeeding her is just as normal and comfortable to her and to me as it was when she was a newborn.  Perhaps more so now because we know what we're doing.  Our own American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding "for the first year and beyond as long as mutually desired by mother and child."  It is my desire for Addisyn to continue to breastfeed for as long as she wants to, though my hope is that she will continue to nurse at least to the two year minimum recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The benefits of extended breastfeeding are pretty incredible, and we still don't completely understand them all.  Here is a list of the benefits of extended breastfeeding as presented by kellymom.com.  I was shocked by just how much breastmilk contributes to a child's nutritional needs between the ages of 1 and 2:


In the second year (12-23 months), 448 mL of breastmilk 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

-- Dewey 2001


Of course there are the other health benefits to her, and I'm not only talking about fewer childhood illnesses which are tend to be shorter in duration when they do occur (babies immune systems are only 60% developed at the age of 1, which is why WHO recommends a full 2 years).  I'm talking the potential reduction in her chances of some pretty significant health problems later in life - obesity and diabetes to name a few.  


Many people would insist that children who are breastfed longer aren't allowed to be independent, yet studies continue to find that the opposite is true.  Children who are breastfed until they are ready to stop tend to be more independent, more confident, and more well-adjusted socially than their counterparts who were weaned before they were ready.  This is thought to be because their needs are recognized and met.  Breastfeeding is just as important to mental and emotional health as it is to nutritional needs; perhaps more so as a child gets along into their toddler years and must deal with an ever-expanding, often overwhelming, world.


I also benefit by breastfeeding her to an older age than American women typically nurse their babies.  The longer I breastfeed, the lower my risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, endometrial cancer,  osteoporosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.


Of course breastfed babies still get sick, and breastfeeding mothers may still end up with breast cancer. Breastfeeding doesn't prevent these things, it simply reduces their likelihood, and that's enough of a reason for me to continue breastfeeding Addisyn for as long as she wishes, and any future children we may have too.