Before having a baby, most women have an idea of how long they intend to breastfeed. In theory, it seems easy, but in practice, things tend to change a bit. Deciding how long to breastfeed becomes a question filled with analysis and decisions that don’t involve just the mother’s wishes, but also the well-being of the baby.

Breastfeeding is very important in a baby’s life and there’s no need to decide at the start for how long you should breastfeed. Many mothers continue to breastfeed their children even after returning to work or studies, while others choose to stop breastfeeding or combine breastfeeding with formula.

Importance of Breastfeeding

What matters most is doing what’s best for the mother and her baby. Continuing to breastfeed helps reduce the chance of food intolerances and continues to protect the baby against infections, regardless of whether they are four months or two years old.

Breastfeeding is much more than just a way to nourish a baby—it’s part of the bond between mother and child. There are many practical, physical, and emotional factors involved in the decision to continue, reduce, or stop breastfeeding.

Advice from family and friends regarding how long to breastfeed may be well-intentioned, but often imprecise or biased. Therefore, if the mother needs impartial support about when and how to stop breastfeeding, it’s best to seek advice from outside the family.

Is Breast Milk Still Nutritious?

Some years ago, it was common to hear that after six months, breast milk was no longer needed and was more like water. After a while, this strange transformation of milk into water was believed to happen after 12 months. Yet, both are completely false.

Breast milk remains a nutritious food for a child from newborn onwards. Moreover, as the child grows older, it contains more fat and provides a greater amount of calories.

The World Health Organization recommends that babies be exclusively breastfed until 6 months of age (that is, no other food or liquids).

From this point, breastfeeding can be combined with other foods until 12 months of age, and between 12 and 24 months, breast milk is just one more food among everything the child can eat.

After 2 years of age, it is said that the baby can continue to breastfeed until the mother or child decides to stop. There is no set deadline. An age is not defined after which a mother’s milk is considered to provide nothing to a child, so from a nutritional standpoint, there is no reason to stop.

A study concluded several facts about breast milk worth emphasizing:

  • Breast milk does not lose its properties over time. Starting in the first year of lactation, the fat content in the milk increases compared to the earlier months, making it a complete and nutritious food for an older child, and of higher quality than formula or cow’s milk.

    It was found that a breastfed child over one year old receives about 1/3 of their daily calorie and protein needs from breast milk (sometimes more, especially during illnesses), as well as a significant amount of vitamins and minerals.

What Are the Benefits of Extended Breastfeeding?

Older children who are breastfed continue to enjoy the immune benefits of breast milk, with lower rates of infection than same-age children who are not breastfed. The advantages of continuing to breastfeed are seen not just in the short term, but even years after weaning.

There is a lower incidence of certain cancers (such as childhood leukemia), metabolic and autoimmune diseases (such as type 1 diabetes), and higher intellectual development with longer and exclusive breastfeeding—an effect that lasts for years and may even lead to higher education and income in adulthood.

Benefits for the Baby

The benefits of extended breastfeeding for the baby include:

  • Balanced nutrition – Breast milk is considered invaluable for infant nutrition. As the baby grows, the composition of breast milk continues to change to meet their nutritional needs. There is no known age at which breast milk is considered insignificant for a child.
  • Increased immunity – While breastfeeding continues, the cells, hormones, and antibodies in breast milk will keep strengthening the baby’s immune system.
  • Improved health – Research shows that longer and continuous breastfeeding and the amount of breast milk a baby receives only bring health benefits.

The benefits of extended breastfeeding for the mother include:

  • Reduced risk of certain diseases – Extended breastfeeding, as well as breastfeeding for 12 months or more, has been shown to reduce the risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes.
  • Improved health – Studies show that prolonged and continuous breastfeeding, and the amount of breast milk consumed by a baby, are also beneficial for the mother’s health.

When a mother wonders how long to breastfeed her child and when to wean, it always comes down to a personal decision: work, comfort, fatigue, lack of time, etc. This is natural and part of life for a mother and her child. Only they will decide what and when is the best time for weaning. It’s a bond of love and health that only brings benefits and deserves to be respected by all.

See Also: Premature Babies – Special Care and Attention
Photos: badarsk