Why breastfeed a toddler?

Or for that matter, why breastfeed at all? 

The recent Time magazine article and its provocative cover has kicked off another round of controversy over breastfeeding in the West, and it set me thinking. The article itself is about Dr Sears and Attachment Parenting, about which more another time, perhaps. For now, I’m going to focus on breastfeeding, since much of the fuss worldwide has been about that. 

So what exactly is the problem? Is it that in western societies the extended family unit is now relatively rare, so breastfeeding is not something we readily see as we grow up? Is it down to the sexualisation of society, so that breasts are now primarily seen as being “for men” and as sexual objects rather than the feeding glands they are in biological terms? Or is it that we have, over the last century or so, become so focused on “progress” and work and freeing women from the “slavery” of parenthood that we have become ignorant about the benefits and joys of breastfeeding? Or is it just that the formula manufacturers are bloody good at advertising?

I breastfed my older daughter until she was over 3 years, and she still occasionally has a quick feed, aged 5, when she needs to feel that connection to me. Her younger sister, now 15 months, is also still breastfeeding, and I’ll keep going until she’s ready to stop. Here’s why:

1. Because it’s normal. I’m a mammal; I’ve got boobs; that’s what they’re for. [Mammal noun: a warm-blooded vertebrate animal of a class that is distinguished by the possession of hair or fur, the secretion of milk by females for the nourishment of the young, and (typically) the birth of live young. ]

2. Because it’s normal. In traditional human societies, Katherine Dettwyler has demonstrated that children wean between 2 and 5 years of age. From an anthropological standpoint, nursing a three-year-old is normal human physiology.

3. Because it’s normal. It is not in any way perverted or weird. If you see a 3 year-old breastfeeding and you think of things sexual, it is you who are sick, not the child.

4. Because it’s healthy for my babies. According to UNICEF , every year more than 10 million children die from mainly preventable causes, including diarrhoea, pneumonia, measles and malaria.  If every baby were exclusively breastfed from birth to six months, an estimated 3,500 children’s lives could be saved each day.

5. Because it’s healthy for my babies. Breast-fed babies have:

·         fewer gastro-intestinal infections

·         fewer chest and ear infections

·         fewer admissions to hospital for childhood illnesses

·         less chance of being constipated

·         less likelihood of becoming obese and therefore developing type 2 diabetes and other illnesses later in life

6. Because it’s healthy for my babies. Prolonged breast-feeding promotes psychological health, and breast-feeding for less than 6 months is associated with increased risk for mental health problems during childhood and adolescence. If a need is met, it goes away. If a need is unmet (such as the need to breastfeed and be close to mum), it remains a need well into childhood and even the teenage years.

7. Because it’s healthy for my babies. A mother’s body adapts the nutritional content of breast-milk to match the needs of her child as he or she grows. In the second year of breastfeeding, breast milk provides:

·         29% of energy requirements

·         43% protein requirements

·         36% of calcium requirements

·         75% of vitamin A requirements

·         76% folate requirements

·         94% vitamin B12 requirements

·         60% vitamin C requirements.

8. Because it helps my children develop. Dettwyler again: It's possible that we evolved to nurse children until they're around 5 or 6. Breast milk is one of the only sources of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids that build brain tissue. It isn't until age 5 or 6 that "95% of brain growth has been reached, and that's also about the time that the child's immune system is ramped up to full production," she says.

9. Because it’s healthy for me. Breastfeeding mothers tend to lose the so-called “baby weight” more easily. Other significant benefits include:

·         a lower risk of breast cancer . Studies have found a significant inverse association between duration of lactation and breast cancer risk

·         lower risk of ovarian cancer, uterine and endometrial cancer

·         protection against osteoporosis

·         a reduced  risk of rheumatoid arthritis

·         a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease

·         and breastfeeding has been shown to decrease insulin requirements in diabetic women

10. Because it’s free.  In 2009 the infant milk market in the UK was worth £263 million; worldwide the figure is $9 billion. Why spend money on something inferior to the free version?

11. Because I received the support I needed from my family, and from La Leche League. It is a crying shame that so many women who set out to breastfeed are persuaded, even encouraged, by ill-informed health professionals or well-meaning friends and relatives to give up when they encounter difficulties. Breastfeeding isn’t always easy, but it IS worth the effort, and women deserve to be supported all the way. Their babies deserve it too.

12. Because it helped me recover from post-natal depression. It helped me create the bond with my baby that was lacking the first few months. It helped me feel that I was nurturing her, and has helped us develop a strong relationship as she grows.

13. Because it’s what my babies need. Breastfeeding is a life-affirming act of love.

14. Because it’s beautiful.

15. Because it’s wonderful.

16. Because I love it!

References

http://www.whale.to/a/extended_bf_factsheet.pdf

http://kellymom.com/ages/older-infant/ebf-benefits/

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/story/2012-05-11/breastfeeding-rates/54909940/1

http://www.whale.to/a/newman.html

http://www.laleche.org.uk/index.htm

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-04-05-study-breast-feeding_N.htm

http://bfmed.wordpress.com/2012/05/11/time-cover-sells-out-moms-to-sell-magazines/

http://www.llli.org/ba/aug94.html

http://mothering.com/all-things-mothering/baby-2/breastfeeding/an-open-letter-to-time-magazine?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+motheringblogs+%28Mothering.com+Blogs%29

http://www.cwt.org.uk/pdfs/infantsmilk_web.pdf