Long-term breastfeeding: what you need to know. Do I need long breastfeeding: my position. Some misconceptions and myths

04.05.2019

The desire to breastfeed a baby after a year is natural for a loving mother, but often it is this desire that causes doubts and anxiety. The basis of the contradictions is the misinformation and opinions of others. Negative social pressure on the issue of breastfeeding originated in the 20th century, with the advent of equality, a woman's duty was determined not so much by motherhood as by work experience. But if we go deeper into history, we will remember that earlier children received mother's milk until 2-3 years old, grew up strong and healthy.

Now let's dwell on this in more detail.

The modern view of specialists on breastfeeding after a year

Not only young and experienced mothers have begun to think about the benefits of long-term breastfeeding. This topic has attracted the interest of scientists around the world. The World Health Organization, together with UNICEF, has carried out serious scientific work on breastfeeding.

Numerous studies have looked at the composition of breast milk, its changes after a year, and the effect on the health and development of the baby. The results showed that a lack of breast milk leads to physical and psychological retardation.

Modern scientists reject false theories that call for the end of breastfeeding after a year. It is possible and even necessary to breastfeed a child for two years.

Features of breastfeeding a child after a year

Starting the second year of his life, the baby is actively interested in the outside world, his attention is increasingly attracted by toys, nature, and strangers. At this point, it is very important to build the right relationship. Breast milk at this age is a source of nutrition, but not comfort.

The child may ask for a breast out of lack of impressions or out of boredom. It is much more important to provide him with impressions, otherwise long-feeding will really become the cause of backward development.

After a year, the baby should be fed with breast milk 2-3 times a day, not counting the nighttime meal.

Pros and cons of longevity

The main advantage of longevity is the naturalness of the product. Mother's milk does not lose its value after a year; it is a balanced and vitamin diet. In the second year of life, the child, along with the mother's milk, receives 43% of protein, 94% of vitamin B2, 75% of vitamin A, 60% of vitamin C, 36% of calcium from the daily requirement, as well as a sufficient amount of sodium, potassium, iron,.

The disadvantages of breastfeeding after a year are rather rooted in the emotional feelings of the woman:

It is possible and even necessary to breastfeed a child for two years.

But these disadvantages are minor in comparison with the benefits of breastfeeding after a year for the baby and his mother.

The benefits of long-term feeding for the baby

The benefits of long-term breastfeeding for the baby are obvious. The most important advantage is the provision of strong immunity, breast milk protects the baby from viruses, bacteria, and all kinds of diseases. Milk has a high content of immunoglobulins, antibodies, lysozyme, lactoferrin, this composition strengthens the baby's immune system.

Other benefits of breastfeeding after a year:

Oral health... Eating mom's milk and holding the breast solve the problem of malocclusion, and also significantly reduce the risk of caries. Teething becomes less painful.
Developed speech apparatus... Correct bite contributes to the normal development of the speech apparatus. Children who were given milk by their mothers up to 2-3 years old begin to speak faster and better.
High intelligence and sociability... Long-term feeding has a positive effect on the intelligence of the child. Children who have been eating mother's milk for more than a year develop faster, adapt in society, they are calmer and not capricious.
Allergy protection... Human milk protects the baby from allergies, its composition creates a protective film on the intestinal walls and does not allow allergens to enter the bloodstream.
Emotional connection... Although after a year breast milk is best regarded only as a source of nutrition, the emotional connection between the baby and the mother is very important, at these minutes the baby receives support, tenderness, love and care.

Children who have been breastfeeding for more than a year are less likely to catch colds, endure otitis media, ARVI. They are less prone to intestinal infections, as well as orthodontic and speech therapy problems.

For mother

Although breastfeeding is not always emotionally pleasing to a woman, this does not mean that her body is suffering from vitamin and mineral deficiencies. The main supply of nutrients is consumed during pregnancy, while lactation, on the contrary, serves to accumulate them. But there is one condition - proper nutrition. should be avoided.

The lactation period and prolonged breastfeeding have a positive effect on a woman's health:

Rest of the reproductive system... During breastfeeding, there is no ovulation in each of the three women, this is the best method of contraception and rest of the entire reproductive system.
Prevention of cancerous tumors... Long-term breastfeeding reduces the risk of developing malignant tumors in the breast by 55%, is the prevention of ovarian cancer.
Weight loss... Long-term feeding reduces the weight gained during pregnancy. Milk production consumes up to 500 calories daily.
Prevention of osteoporosis... Long-term milk production prevents the development of osteoporosis.
Maintaining beautiful breasts... If weaning after prolonged feeding occurs in the involution stage (at 2-3 years), it is possible to maintain a beautiful breast shape. This is due to the fact that the glandular tissue is gradually replaced by adipose tissue, preventing the breasts from sagging.

Watch a video in which a mother, who nursed her daughter after a year, shares her experience of longevity:

Medicine has stepped forward and moved away from the stereotypes of the last century, because the health of children is much more important than status in society and career. Breastfeeding a baby after a year is good for both him and his mother, as we have seen.

Lyudmila Sergeevna Sokolova

Reading time: 4 minutes

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The question of the duration of the period of breastfeeding of the child sooner or later arises before every breastfeeding woman. This is an almost rhetorical question that, although asked, does not require a loud and precise answer. There are dozens of different answers and recommendations for both prolonged breastfeeding and earlier weaning. Each mother must solve this issue for herself.

But in order not to be mistaken in solving such an important issue, the mother must responsibly weigh all the nuances of long-term breastfeeding, evaluate the objective and subjective prerequisites for continuing or refusing to breastfeed, and simply trust her feelings. After all, who, if not a loving mother, can understand and decide what is best for her child.

Feeding

After birth, a little newborn man only needs a mother, who carefully wore and waited for him for 9 months, and now just as tenderly takes care of him, warms, feeds and loves. And the best and most reliable means of comforting and calming a newborn in the first months of life is a warm mother's breast.

Breast milk emotionally and physically holds the unbreakable thread of the mother's bond with her baby. Breastfeeding your long-awaited baby is the most magical time for all mothers on earth.

Experts have been repeating for a long time and tirelessly that mother's milk is the most ideal product for a newborn - it is completely digested without problems in a small stomach, absorbed by a tiny organism, strengthens and stimulates the baby to grow, and also has a constant optimal temperature and is almost always ready to eat. could eat a hungry kid. It is also the most economical way to feed your baby.

According to pediatricians, breastfeeding is the first and irreplaceable immunization of a newborn, necessary to effectively protect the child from many infectious and gastric diseases.

Breast milk, which contains all the necessary complex of vitamins and microelements, perfectly stimulates the normal development of the brain, cardiovascular and nervous systems of the baby, as well as the correct formation of all other systems of the child's body.

The statistics of medical research on breastfeeding show that in the current period only about 12% of newborns under three months receive breast milk, other children use artificial milk formulas.

Summing up, we can say that breast milk is the main building material for babies, fully meeting the needs of the growing human body in vitamins, carbohydrates, protein, calcium, protective antibacterial elements and other useful components.

Scientific and journalistic literature published by authors and medical staff of the World Health Organization on the topic of up to what age a baby should be breastfed often claims that the most optimal period for breastfeeding is when the baby is two years old. And the minimum duration of breastfeeding for a newborn must be at least six months. The period of breastfeeding after six months is also beneficial for the child, but requires the introduction of a certain complementary feeding, since the mother's milk can no longer fully satisfy all the biological needs of the child. After 12 months, the baby's diet is usually significantly varied, and from this age, you can feed the baby with breast milk 1-2 times a day. It is most convenient to feed in the evening or at night.

Mother's milk, for all its uniqueness, has another remarkable feature. With each month of growth and development of a newborn, the composition of milk contains exactly those biologically important components that are necessary for a child during this period of life.

Immunity of a breastfed baby

Breastfeeding gives the baby the necessary and strong immunity. According to experts, a newborn child is protected by maternal immunity until about 5-6 months, which he received from the moment of birth. And it is believed that until this age, mother's milk plays a simply nutritious, but not protective role.

After six months, the production of mother's milk gradually moves to a more priority direction - nutritional value goes by the wayside after obtaining the much-needed childhood immunity. This also applies to the production of antibodies to chickenpox, rubella and other viral pathogens.

But in fairness, it should be noted that the immunity of a nursing woman with prolonged breastfeeding weakens slightly and the functioning of her body is depleted. This is due to the fact that lactation and feeding are the primary tasks of a lactating woman. And if during this period the mother does not eat well, her diet is not balanced, or the baby drinks a lot of milk, the woman's body begins to use and burn its own resources, which leads to a loss of health.

Cases of hair loss and deterioration, weight loss, brittle nails and dry skin can occur. Therefore, every nursing mother who has similar symptoms must carefully and responsibly decide whether she needs to feed her baby with breast milk for a long time to the detriment of her immunity and health. After all, mother's health is very important both for herself and for the child.

If the mother's immunity does not undergo any changes, then long breastfeeding carries certain advantages for the female body:

the risk of oncological diseases of the mammary glands and female ovaries decreases several times;
during the period of regular breastfeeding, a woman does not ovulate;
long lactation and natural feeding helps to reduce the weight of the mother, since the production of breast milk requires about 500 calories from the woman's body.

Of course, lactation cannot last forever. Mammologists claim that after 2.5-3 years from the beginning of milk production, the body of a nursing woman is programmed to involution (reverse development), that is, the breast gradually stops lactation and returns to its original dolactational state.

Main statistical stages of breastfeeding

breastfeeding is mandatory until the age of 6 months;
it is recommended to start the first baby foods after six months (plus or minus one month);
after 8 months, the child begins to receive various mashed potatoes, cereals, infant formula and kefir, without ceasing, if possible, to eat mother's milk;
after the age of 12 months, the child's diet is very diverse, and is somewhat similar to that of an adult, but this circumstance is not a signal for a woman to stop breastfeeding.

The age after 11-12 months is characterized by intensive growth, the formation of the physical and mental development of the baby, in connection with which it is possible and necessary to feed the baby with mother's milk, if there is such a wonderful and useful opportunity.

In this regard, it is interesting and informative to learn the following fact from the life of mammals from the animal world. Many animal mammals can feed their young for 5-6 times longer than their pregnancy lasts. If we draw a parallel with the human body, then such a period should last up to 4.5 years.

Unfortunately, there are certain reasons that make a mother stop breastfeeding her baby. This happens:

if the natural function of lactation brings inconvenience due to possible feeding in crowded places;
the instability of the family budget forces the mother to go to work, having prematurely terminated the maternity leave to care for the child.

How a baby is weaned

Nursing mothers who are worried about the age to which the baby should be fed with breast milk must firmly learn that breastfeeding should in no case be associated with the calendar age of the baby. And also you cannot be guided by any statistics indicators and advice from girlfriends and grandmothers. All small children and nursing mothers are individual, and you should only listen to your feelings and feelings with which you are feeding the baby, and act only in the interests and needs of the baby. If you are tired of breastfeeding, being tied to the time of feeding, and this process does not give you any pleasure and satisfaction, it is better to finish feeding.

And if you do not want to stop this intimate and emotional process of unity and warmth, you definitely need to feed further. The presence of the mother and tactile contact with her are very important for the baby. And if, at the same time, he also receives all the balanced useful elements for full growth and development, the answer to the question of up to what age a baby needs to be fed with breast milk is obvious - the longer, the better. You should not tear the baby off the chest before he himself comes to this.

But how to understand that breastfeeding is no longer necessary for the child and it loses its importance and relevance for him?

Firstly, from this age, the child lays on the breast once or twice a day, and sometimes just for the purpose of calming himself, and not for the purpose of eating. But the baby does not want to give up the breast at all. In order not to upset the baby, you need to pay more attention and affection to him, hug and hug him to you. You should not, having felt freedom from breastfeeding, shift the care of the baby onto the shoulders of a grandmother or nanny. In no case! It is desirable that at such a time it is the mother who dresses, bathes and walks with the child, and he feels comfortable and easy.

Secondly, laying the baby in the daytime gradually occurs without breastfeeding. He falls asleep calmly even in the presence of his father or grandmother.

Third, the older the child, the better he understands that there are other equivalents of comfort and relaxation than mother's breast.

You do not need to stop breastfeeding if your baby is sick. Especially if the disease is associated with gastrointestinal disorders. Mom's milk during such a period will be the best medicine for him. If the child has already lost the habit of breastfeeding during the daytime, milk must be expressed and be sure to give it to the child.

Also, you do not need to quit breastfeeding during the period of preventive vaccinations, because at this time the child's body is most susceptible to all kinds of infections and unpredictable reactions, which will help the use of balanced and healthy breast milk.

To see if mom is ready to finish breastfeeding e, you need to do a little experiment. Part with the child for 7-10 hours, leaving him in the care of relatives. If the mother does not have a painful feeling from the bursting and filling of the breast with milk, then this can confirm the fact that the woman is also gradually preparing to stop breastfeeding.

After stopping breastfeeding, a woman may still have a clear liquid, similar to colostrum, for some time. This is a normal process that will end over time. Also, many mothers during such a period may experience psychological discomfort - she wants to cry, constantly keep the child near her. Don't worry, these are hormonal changes after weaning, they will also go away over time.

The time of weaning from the breast always comes on its own, there is no need to speed it up or rush it. Many mothers, desperate from the fact that her one and a half year old baby "hangs" on her chest, are confident that she will have to feed him before school. Do not worry, just everyone has their own individual laws of development and formation. All mom-to-baby pairs come at the time of weaning. But there is still a lot of affectionate and beloved things!

Today, more and more women, giving birth to children, feed them with breast milk, and they do this for a fairly long time. I myself am one of these women, the experience of breastfeeding my own son is two years and eight months, and I can talk about long-term feeding not only as a pediatrician and breastfeeding consultant, but also as an experienced mother. We fed ourselves to self-exclusion, completing this pleasant and rewarding process smoothly and painlessly. The question of how to feed a child never arose for me, but after crossing the milestone, first at one year, and then at two, I increasingly heard the question: "Why are you feeding for so long?" Let's answer it together.

Feeding after a year

In response to the questions that I was asked - "Do you breastfeed after a year?", "What is the use of mother's milk after a year, there is nothing useful", I always ask a counter question: "Who set the date in one year?" Who has proven that there is no benefit in breast milk after a year? Opponents of long-term feeding usually answer these questions vaguely and unconvincingly - "Well, everyone says so!"

Usually, “everyone” is understood as the words of grandmothers and mothers of the older generation, by the way, who have meager experience of breastfeeding, since for a long time women were forced to quickly turn off their GV and go to work 3-6 months after giving birth, sending their children to a nursery and transferring to mixtures.

Other opponents of long-term breastfeeding are old-school pediatricians who worked in the Soviet years, completely unfamiliar with modern ideas about hepatitis B and WHO recommendations, and still practicing regular breastfeeding with a night break and smearing nipples with green paint to prevent cracks. These opinions do not have scientific confirmation, these are just well-established and obsolete stereotypes that are long overdue to break! Such opinions cannot be trusted, it is necessary to back up any recommendation with proven facts and authoritative research.

To prove my words and my experience, I will cite the data of scientific research and the centuries-old experience of our ancestors, reflected, by the way, in the great and sacred books of our great-great-grandfathers. This will allow me to defend my point of view with arguments and not flaunt only my personal, individual experience of one baby - feeding is useful at one year, and at two years, and even at three!

The centuries-old history of breastfeeding

When studying books that came from antiquity, you can find a lot of interesting facts describing the process of pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding. Let's start with our Christian Bible, which, although it does not stipulate specific terms for breastfeeding, many times cites the facts of long-term feeding of children. An example is the ending of a story from the Old Testament (Book of Maccabees), where you can read the phrase:

- "A son! have pity on me, who carried you in the womb for nine months, nourished you with milk for three years, nursed and raised and raised you. (2Mac.7: 27) ".

The book of Genesis, the first of the books of the Old Testament, tells of Sarah, who suffered from infertility, who gave birth to her son Isaac in adulthood, and nursed him with her breast. At the same time, it indicates that the child was weaned when the child had already grown up, and at that time, babies were considered grown up closer to two or three years. “The child has grown and is weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. " (Genesis 21: 8)

Another fact is described, which is taken from the life of the prophet Samuel, where it is said that he was fed with his mother's milk until the moment ... "The baby will be weaned and grow up, then I will take him away, and he will appear before the Lord and remain there forever." (1 Sam.1: 22) "And [his] wife remained, and suckled her son until she suckled." (1 Sam. 1:23)That is, we are talking about a child who understands everything and confidently walks, and this is a baby at least two or three years old.

Now let's turn to the sacred books of other religions, and in them we can also find confirmation that in the ancient world, everywhere and everywhere, children were breastfed for a long time. The Talmud repeatedly gives descriptions of the fact that babies are recommended to be fed until at least two years of age, and it is quite possible to do this up to five years. The ancient Jews even had a riddle about babies and breastfeeding: "What does this mean: 9 leave, 8 come, two pour, one drinks, 24 serve."

The answer to it is simple: nine months of pregnancy leave, they are replaced by eight days after childbirth before circumcision (a ritual that is sacred in Judaism), and then two mothers' breasts deliver milk to one child for 24 months, that is, up to two years.

Among Muslims, the process of breastfeeding babies is also not overlooked. For example, the second Sura tells us: "The mothers feed their children of two years old" ...Sura 14 (15) reads: “We have commanded man to bless his parents; the mother carries it with gravity and produces it with gravity; (and its resurrection and distraction - thirty months) ". Sura 46 says about the feeding time: "The period of wearing it in the womb and weaning (from the breast) will be thirty months." That is, according to Muslim canons, children must feed for at least 1.9 - 2 years, and longer.

For the full value of the story, I will give examples of champions in terms of breastfeeding - they turned out to be Eskimos and North American Indians. In their tribes, young men aged 12-15, returning from hunting with their elders, would kiss their mother's breast to drink a portion of their mother's milk.

Naturally, in modern society, no one calls on you to breastfeed your baby before the army or institute, but it is quite possible to follow the recommendations of one of the most authoritative organizations dealing with breastfeeding issues - WHO (World Health Organization). According to her recommendations, breastfeeding should be maintained for at least two years - and more, at the request of the mother and baby.

Data from modern science

Breastfeeding after a year is a completely natural process, and it is no less beneficial than breastfeeding an infant immediately after birth. Breasts and breast milk do not have clocks and calendars, and breast milk does not know that the baby is one year old. And this means that the milk in the breast does not spoil in any way exactly in a year, in honor of the onset of such an important date. A woman's breast is a special and very delicate natural instrument, and the milk in it over time, as the child grows and develops, gradually changes to meet his growing needs in order to cover them as much as possible. In this regard, I would like to debunk one of the global myths about the harmfulness of breast milk after the onset of a year, while citing scientific facts and real supporting arguments.

From birth to six months of age, breast milk covers all the nutritional and drinking needs of the baby - almost everyone knows about this. From six months in the baby's diet, while breast milk as a food product does not lose its benefits and importance. It covers a fairly large part of a growing child's nutritional and fluid needs. In the second year, milk replenishes up to 40% of the need for food and its total calorie content.

The baby begins to eat in the second year much less often, which leads to a gradual change in the composition of breast milk for his needs. The fat content of milk begins to increase approximately two to three times, while the amount of protective antibodies is also increased, especially for immunoglobulin A. This substance will protect the mucous membranes of the urinary tract and intestines, as well as the oral cavity from the introduction of pathogenic microbes into them.

Children who are breastfeeding after one year of age practically do not experience problems with a deficiency of mineral components in the form of calcium, potassium, sodium, and, but only on condition of proper and adequate nutrition of the mother (if she is not exhausted and healthy). Then, in breast milk, these minerals will be in the amount necessary for the needs of the child and, most importantly, in the most assimilable form, in contrast to complementary foods. In addition to minerals, breast milk in the second year will cover almost two-thirds of children's vitamin requirements. Particularly important in breast milk are ascorbic acid, vitamin A and group B, and folic acid.

Feeding children over one year old has been shown to reduce the risk of colds and other infections in children. Moreover, if babies get sick, they get sick more easily and recover faster than children who feed on formula. This is explained by the fact that breast milk contains specific antibodies and immunoglobulins, as well as many non-specific defense factors, such as lactoferrin, lysozyme and others. Children on HBV are less likely to develop intestinal infections, ARVI or otitis media, childhood infections.

It is especially important to feed children who are prone to the development of allergic diseases after a year. In such children, the intestines are especially sensitive and permeable to allergens from outside. Breast milk for them is a complete nutrition due to its special composition and the presence of special protective factors, due to which a dense protective film is created over the entire surface of the intestine, which does not allow strong allergens to penetrate into the child's blood in large quantities.

Breastfeeding after a year is beneficial for both oral health and reducing the risk of tooth decay. According to dentists, children who have been breastfeeding for a long time practically do not have problems with bite, the dentition develops correctly and there is less chance of tooth damage from caries. This is because breast milk contains antimicrobial factors that protect teeth from damage, and due to sucking, the muscular apparatus of the jaws develops fully and correctly, which helps in the development of the speech apparatus. These children usually start talking faster and have fewer pronunciation problems.

According to teachers and psychologists who conducted massive comparative studies, children who breastfeed after a year are calmer than children who by that time had already been weaned. The influence of long-term feeding on the formation of intelligence was also revealed: the children who were breastfed for the longest showed the most outstanding successes. For them, it is easier and faster to adapt in a team, and not only in the first years, but also in later life. Mom's breasts are a natural antidepressant, and in children, due to which they grow calmer and less capricious and cry.

Is there a benefit for mom?

Many of the parents believe that long-term breastfeeding can damage the mother's body, depriving her of some of the vitamins and minerals that are useful for her herself, and nutrients. But this is not true. A woman spends the bulk of the reserves of nutrients during pregnancy. And when breastfeeding, no matter how long it lasts, her health will not suffer in any way, unless mommy exhausts herself with strict diets and hunger strikes. She replenishes her reserves through nutrition quite adequately and fully. Moreover, doctors have also proven the extremely positive effect of long-term breastfeeding on the health of the mother herself.

In addition, long-term breastfeeding contributes to the mother's weight loss, since usually in the first about ten to twelve months of breastfeeding, the body spends all the reserves that it made during pregnancy by storing excess fat. Feeding after a year is gradually removed from the mother's body 400-500 kcal daily.

In addition to all the indicated advantages, with prolonged feeding, the weaning process will occur at the stage of involution of the mammary gland - its reverse development in about two to three years. This will allow you to maintain almost the original shape of your breasts. During involution, the glandular tissues are gradually replaced by fatty ones, which give the breast volume and shape, and then it will become more elastic and sag less.

The curtailment of breastfeeding occurs most physiologically during the period when the gland itself is ready for this, which means that the entire body and breast are not stressed. This further reduces the risk of various kinds of problems in the chest - lactostasis, mastitis, pain. In addition, in the stage of involution, the breast itself prepares the baby for parting with it.

Psychological difficulties of longevity

Despite the obvious benefits of long-term breastfeeding, many wean children early, fearing various kinds of psychological difficulties, or under pressure from relatives, environment and other factors. Let's talk about that too.

The most important experience of mothers who breastfeed for a long time is the fact that the baby does not eat normal food well, and in the future it will also eat poorly and gain little weight. But both artificial and short-fed babies go through nutritional problems. Poor appetite is just one of the physiological developmental periods when taste and selectivity in food is formed.

In this regard, children who breastfeed for a long time have the advantage - everything that they did not get from the adult table, they get from breast milk. They usually do not experience problems with weight gain and appetite, they grow and develop according to norms, and artificial people suffer from anemia, malnutrition and feeding them is a whole problem.

Sleep becomes another important problem for children after a year. Babies constantly wake up in the middle of the night. Many "good counselors" say: you need to immediately wean the baby, and then he will sleep well all night and will not wake up at all. Moms follow these tips, and the result is an even bigger problem with sleep. If, when breastfeeding, the baby woke up at night, received a breast for food and calming, and then fell asleep with it sweetly, now he wakes up and does not get what he wants. As a result, night tantrums with whims arise, and the baby does not accept substitutes for himself in the form of water, juice, milk from a bottle, and even swinging in his arms.

At the same time, artificial people sleep no better than infants for the first few years, up to three years, intermittent night sleep is a physiological phenomenon for many children, caused by an excess of emotions and their active "digestion" by the nervous system.

In addition, at this time, the eruption of canines and molars occurs, which interferes with normal sleep. Sometimes children can write at night, which also causes them discomfort and wakes them up. Therefore, up to three years of age, intermittent and restless dreams do not depend in any way on nightly breastfeeding or formula feeding. Babies after one year old will be in an advantageous position here - with the help of breastfeeding, they can calm down faster and more actively, relieve pain and stress from the day they have gone through.

It is impossible to spoil the child's mother's breast, he will gradually give up the breast as he grows up - but everyone has their own age, in the period from one and a half to three or more years.

Photo - photo bank Lori

The benefits of breast milk are many. First, it is a complete food, it contains all the vitamins, nutrients and fats that a child needs. Secondly, mother's milk is easily absorbed in the baby's stomach. Thirdly, breastfeeding is beneficial for the mother herself, as it helps to shrink the uterus to its normal size. In addition to all this, breast milk is always available and.

If possible, breastfeeding is a must. This process will ensure the correct development of the baby, establish emotional contact with him and positively affect the health of the mother.

During breastfeeding, a close and loving relationship is established between mom and baby, bringing both satisfaction. Such close contact must be established immediately after childbirth, when it is so important to feel safe in a world unknown to him.

Research has proven that breast milk helps a baby develop intellectually. As they get older, breastfed babies do better on intelligence testing than artificially fed babies.

If a nursing mother suddenly becomes ill, antibodies begin to be produced in her body. Some, once in the mammary gland, create protective antibodies there, which enter the baby's body through milk. These antibodies are protective against many diseases.

Breastfeeding significantly reduces your baby's risk of diabetes at an older age. It also reduces the likelihood of obesity and hypertension later in life.

Artificial feeding

Manufacturers of artificial infant formula try to replicate the composition of breast milk in their product as much as possible. However, it has not yet been possible to fully approach the genius invention of nature. The mixtures lack the components contained in natural mother's milk, so some children develop allergies, neuropsychological disorders or digestive disorders.

In artificial mixtures there are no regulatory peptides (human casein proteins) that a baby needs for proper development.

It is necessary to breastfeed the child as long as possible, up to 1-3 years. The transition to artificial feeding is carried out only in cases where breastfeeding is not possible.

Hello dear readers! What does long breastfeeding mean? What advantages and disadvantages does it have? Why is there such an ambiguous attitude towards this phenomenon in society? In this article I will express my position on this issue. And I'll explain why my opinion about long-term breastfeeding has changed dramatically over the past year.

I recently published an article by a woman feeding her child up to 3.5 years old. And you can read her experience. Personally, I have no such experience. I am breastfeeding at 1 year old. But I plan to feed my second child as long as possible. How it will end - I don't know yet.

Our weaning experience

When my daughter was one year old, I felt some pressure from my grandmothers and just acquaintances. Today this pressure is not as strong as 10-20 years ago ... But it still exists. And women who are not sure of their position easily adapt to the opinion of the majority. So it was with me. I read about the benefits of breast milk for up to two years ... I even wanted to wait up to one and a half years ... But the environment quickly persuaded me not to suffer unnecessarily. There were reasons for that:

i planned and was afraid that the second baby would not have enough vitamins;
at 11 months, my daughter began to bite a little. By the time we were one year old, we seemed to have solved this problem, but I was afraid of repetition and succumbed to the “why should I suffer in vain” attitude;
i'm already a little tired of breastfeeding my baby at midnight.

The excommunication was easy. Two days later, the baby forgot about the breast. There were no tantrums, just a grandmother was nearby, constantly distracting the baby. The night's sleep dramatically improved. And my daughter suddenly turned into more affectionate, began to hug me, replaced breastfeeding with other contacts with my mother. In general, everything went just gorgeous. And I began to promote classic weaning in one year.

Benefits of Long Feeding

The only trouble I encountered was that a month after completing breastfeeding, my daughter first contracted a runny nose. And in the coming months, the runny nose recurred several more times. However, I would not dramatize the situation: fortunately, my daughter had excellent immunity, all these colds were as mild as possible ... And now, at the age of three, the child has stopped hurting again. But the trend is hard to miss. A series of mild colds began immediately after the withdrawal of breast milk! Before that, there was never a runny nose. Never!

Breastfeeding experts insist on feeding babies under two years of age. Or longer. But at least up to two. And I think that this time I will try not to excommunicate ahead of time. For the immunity and mental health of the child. I will not renounce, there are different situations ... Fanaticism is inappropriate here ... But I also think it is wrong to excommunicate a year if you can feed longer. I doubt that I will last until 3-4 years. So far, my guideline is 2 years. And then we will see.

Why feed longer?

the baby receives "natural vitamins" in the form of your milk. This is undeniable. Many people give children chemical vitamins, although their benefits are not so clear-cut. Nobody says: "Why give this to a child, he will not be able to satisfy the feeling of hunger with them!" Vitamins are a supplement to the main food. And why refuse them if it is completely free, and most importantly, it was created by nature itself to protect our children?
At 1-1.5 years old, many children are still poorly able to digest adult food. It is not completely absorbed. It is believed that breast milk helps this process ... And again, it provides the missing nutrients.
Breastfeeding is a bond with mom. And the child needs this connection. Therefore, stopping breastfeeding is not easy at all. However, at 3-4 years old, almost all babies voluntarily break this connection, independently refusing to breast. Many psychologists confirm that only at the age of 3, the baby begins to realize that he is separate from his mother. This means that early weaning becomes a lot of stress for him.
Nature is not stupid. And if a child really needed milk until only one year old, it would have disappeared by that time. Or the children without exception threw their breasts at this very age. But we see the opposite: in a year the breasts are still overflowing, it is difficult to wean, you need to fight stagnation and somehow pump out. At the same time, the child is also not ready to voluntarily give up this food source. Don't you think that we are going against our plans?
HB specialists say that long-term feeding has a positive effect on the development of the brain and the entire nervous system. About the brain - I'm not sure, but the nervous system, most likely, is really getting stronger.

Why is society against this eating style?

It seems to me that when women vividly condemn such an extension of the "breast period", they are simply afraid to be wrong. After all, if it really was necessary to give the baby a breast until self-excommunication ... Then it turns out that I am a bad mother? Have I made a mistake? I was wrong? No, it would be better to say: "What will they not come up with just now!", "Horror, what nonsense!" etc. I said so myself when my breastfeeding was successful.

The arguments of opponents of long feeding:

"After a year, there are no vitamins in milk!" The funniest argument. How is it all of a sudden - there used to be vitamins, but after a year they suddenly suddenly disappeared? Experts conducted studies in which they proved that the older the baby, the more vitamins and antibodies in milk! More precisely, the concentration of vitamins is higher for each drop of milk. And what the child used to receive in a whole day, now he gets for one feeding. And this is logical. Now babies suckle less often.
"And then how to excommunicate ?!" First, you don't need to excommunicate. Secondly, I have many acquaintances who were excommunicated after two years. It's okay, sometimes it was even easier: the child is big enough, it is easier for him to explain something. Yes, it happens that the truth is, at 2-3 years old, the toddler does not want to forget the breast. But how many stories about excruciating hysterical excommunication in 1 year ... I do not think that in a year it is easier.
"The child will be too attached to the mother, will be afraid of everything and lag behind in development!" The fact is that the baby should be attached to the mother. It cannot exist on its own yet. And if you do not want to send your child to kindergarten at the age of 1.5, such attachment will only be beneficial. Everything has its time. And when the baby has lived through this period of attachment to the maximum, it is easier for him to separate and become more independent.
"It will be bad for the mother's health!" Perhaps, in some cases, lactation really worsens a woman's health. I don’t presume to judge. But I think it would be more logical not to stop feeding, but to go to a good doctor. And only if he prescribes serious treatment that excludes hepatitis B - then yes, it is really better to wean ...
"Well, you can go crazy !!" I think that if lactation is accompanied by continuous torment for a woman, it is not at all necessary to feed up to 3 years. But first, it's best to talk to a GW consultant and understand what the problem is. As a rule, after 1.5 years of age, children rarely ask for breasts. And feeding does not bother the young mother at all.
"What if he undresses me in front of everyone ?!" It is necessary to teach the child that he can receive breast only at home. At 2 years old, they no longer feed on the first squeak.

This was my point of view on the length of breastfeeding. It is based on reading specialist books and communicating with experienced mothers ... How much can I implement it in real life? Time will tell. I do not adhere to the position of "breasts under 3 years at any cost", we will act according to circumstances.

Until how old did you breastfeed your babies?

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