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| Education and Support for Nursing Mothers |
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| Last Updated February 2, 2004 |
| What?? But you're supposed to wean at a year! |
| According to what rule? Written down where? It is (quite sadly) true that in the United States, very few children are still receiving breastmilk at 12 months of age. But that does not mean they are supposed to be forced to stop at 12 months of age, either. Remember, the AAP actually recommends nursing for a minimum of one year, while the World Health Organization recommends nursing for a minimum of two years. The AAFP also recognizes the importance of nursing beyond the first year, to both the mother and the child. |
| But it's just for comfort at that point. It isn't still nutritious, right? |
| Let's take that statement in two parts. First, let's assume that it is just for comfort. Would that be so bad? Aren't there other things you do for your child, just because they are comforting? Do you cuddle your child on your lap & stroke his or her hair while reading a story? Do you softly sing a lullaby as your child drifts off to sleep? Have you ever known a parent to put a band-aid on a boo-boo that didn't really need one just because band-aids magically make boo-boos better? Children draw great comfort and strength from the nursing relationship. Norma Jane Bumgarner notes in her book, Mothering Your Nursing Toddler, |
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| 75% of Vitamin A requirements; 94% of Vitamin B12 requirements; 60% of Vitamin C requirements; 36% of Calcium requirements; 29% of Energy requirements; 76% of Folate requirements; 43% of Protein requirements |
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| Well, OK, it's comforting and it's nutritious -- but is that all? I mean, there are other ways to get comfort and nutrition. |
| Yes, there certainly are other ways to get comfort, and other ways to get nutrition. But as they say on the late-night infomercials, But wait, there's more! |
| A Few of the Benefits to the Mother: Many mothers claim that nursing their child beyond infancy makes parenting during the toddler/preschool years easier. Nursing can be used to prevent a tantrum, soothe a frightened child, or help an overtired, cranky child drift easily off to sleep. The hormones released during nursing help calm not only the child, but the mother as well. With nursing as a parenting tool, many frustrations and difficulties of dealing with very young children may be avoided entirely. An additional benefit to the mother is that she may not need to take as many sick days in order to care for an ill child, as children who are still nursing are less likely to become ill than their non-nursing daycare friends. But the mother's health also benefits by nursing beyond infancy. Mothers who continue to nurse their children past their first birthdays are reducing their risks of osteoporosis and various cancers, including breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and endometrial cancer. |
| Next, what other food do you know that stops being nutritious just because you've had it every day for a certain period of time? Would broccoli magically turn into water on the 366th day you eat it? In actual fact, breastmilk is incredibly nutritious for toddlers. About 1-3/4 cups of breastmilk -- what a typical child would receive in 3-4 nursing sessions -- provides: |
| "...satisfying hunger or thirst is only a part of nursing. After a minute or two of nursing, the entire little body relaxes with contentment and pleasure. A child who is hurt begins to feel better. A child who has become overexcited calms down." |
| She also notes that the need to suck continues beyond infancy, and is a real, physical need for the child, to the point that substitutes are often required for a child who is no longer nursing: |
| "Sucking is a necessary restorative for rapidly growing little people, so much so that most children who do not nurse seek an alternative -- bottle, pacifier, thumb, fingers, hair, blanket-corner, etc....Comfort from sucking is a blessing given to babies and little children which helps ease them through the physical and mental upheaval, greater than that of adolescence, that propels them from the womb into childhood in just a few short years." |
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| A Few of the Benefits to the Child: In addition to providing comfort and nutrition, nursing provides valuable immune factors, even as the child grows and nurses less often. A child's immune system does not function at the levels of an adult's immune system until the child approaches at least 6 years of age. On those occasions when the child does become ill, however, breastmilk is the perfect convalescent food -- easily digested and absorbed, and often the only thing a sick toddler is willing to consume. Also, should a breast-fed child require surgery, that child undergoes a much shorter pre-surgical fasting period, as breastmilk is considered almost a clear liquid. Many conditions are also rarer in children who are breastfed: Type I diabetes, Crohn's disease, allergies, and cavities of the baby teeth are just a few examples. Children who are nursed into toddlerhood are less likely to need braces, because their mouths and jaws have been excersised properly and developed better. Additionally, the dental arch of breastfed babies develops better, resulting in less snoring and apnea later in life. |
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| This Page: Are we supposed to wean at a year? Isn't if just for comfort? Doesn't breastmilk stop being nutritious at a year? Are there benefits to the mother? What other benefits are there to the child? |
| Next Page: When do children naturally wean? I'm not comfortable nursing a walking, talking child. How do I handle criticism about nursing my toddler? |
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| Last Page: More on handling criticism about nursing a toddler. How do I find a support network for extended nursing? Additional links related to toddler nursing. |
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| Nursing a Toddler |
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