benefits of breastfeeding beyond 12 mo

[ionesmum]

What are they?

My G.P. says that the only benefit is convenience for me.

[beansprout]

That your baby is getting milk that is tailor made for him/her and that nothing else can match it? The question is, why would you just want to give baby anything else if you are happy to b/f?

[emkana]

Grrrr, that's exactly the kind of thing that really gets my goat! Just shows his ignorance, really...

Have a look here

HTH

[Fran1]

OOoooooh tell him where to stick it.

Actually i have been told the same by two healthvisitors, and they shamed me into nodding my head meekly and agreeing to give up, but i didn't i continued until dd was two and just didn't see the hv's again!!

A year on i think i have more guts about the whole issue, and i'd be tempted to complain if i were you. I know with my next baby i will not stand for such comments.

Then benefits i'm not entirely sure if there are any dietary wise etc, but the la leche league website will probably list them.

But the most important thing is comfort and reassurance, and the continued relationship betweenyou and your child.

How do you feel about continuing to bf? Your are not considering giving up because of this comment are you?

[pixiefish]

that you're giving baby food tailor made from him and not food tailor made for an animal that grazes in as field all day

[Fran1]

oh thats looks like a good link emkana!

[jane313]

the World Health Organisation recommend it

[ionesmum]

I'm not stopping breastfeeding, I love it too much!(and I don't think dd2 would let me anyway! But I think my g.p. must be wrong. For example, last week I was really ill with a throat infection and my G.P. said that dd2 wouldn't get any immunity from my milk as that is only effective when they are little. I'm also getting a lot of stick re a possible lack of iron as my dd2 eats very little in the way of solids.

[ionesmum]

Thanks for all the messages, I will ahve a look at that link.

BTW my G.P. is female....

There is another G.P. at the same practise who is stil bfeeding her ds at 12 mo.

[Socci]

Message withdrawn

[hewlettsdaughter]

I'd change your GP if I was you

[beansprout]

I love the way that individual hvs or gps think they know more than the WHO!

[ionesmum]

Just had a look at that link, Emkana, and it is fab. Thank you. It also explains why my dd is nursing more at night at the moment - she is teething!

I actually quite like my G.P., it's just this bfeeding thing that's the problem. My hv also takes the same line i.e I need to stop or cut down bfeeding and dd needs more solids. I bottlefed dd1 and so in regards to bfeeding I feel a bit like a first time mum, esp. as dd1 weaned really easily.

[emkana]

With regards to solids...
at 12 months my dd2 ate practically nothing. She is now 18 months and is eating very well, some days more, some days less, but generally no probs.
I always found that it's good to feel at the end of a day that even if your child only ate two bites of toast, one spoonful of yoghurt and one bite of pasta in a day, at least you know that he/she got all the nutrients from the breastmilk!

[spod]

gp talking out of arse!

[ionesmum]

Thanks, emkana, that's a good way of looking at it

Spod

Thanks again to everyone for replying!

[bobbybob]

Why is it any of your GPs business how you feed your baby?

[hercules]

When I complained to my surgery about the head hv never having heard of the WHO recommendations about exclusive bf to 6 months, they told me the GPs take bf advice from the hvs so what the hvs tell them goes. We all know how much most hvs know about bf!

[ionesmum]

Bobbybob, my G.P. genuinely seems to think that bfeeding beyond 12 mo is medically inadvisable because:
a) she will get anaemic
b) she won't eat enough solids and become a picky eater
c) she will develope a sweet tooth and
d) her teeth will rot.

We have had a lot of colds and viruses this winter and every time we see her the G.P. says to 'think about' stopping b/feeding. She apparently has quite a bit of experience in paedeatrics before becoming a G.P.

The hv is the same, but I don't see her so often!

[HappyMumof2]

Message withdrawn

[Newyearmum]

I am starting to think that the baby really does know best - I know it's a cliche but there are days when my baby wants more milk and less solids than usual, and vice-versa, and I really think their bodies go through different stages of growth and development and that they directly respond to this.

I think what I'm trying to say ionesmum, is that if your dd was no longer benefiting from bf (for whatever reason) she would slow down, or start to eat more solids of her own accord. I think the important thing is to continue to make all the options available to her - boobs and solids - and your baby will know what's best.

[emkana]

@HappyMumof2: I ask myself the same thing! Why oh why do they come up with these ridiculous recommendations, when the Who and the American Academy of Paediatrics (I think that's what it's called) recommend breastfeeding after 12 months - the Who even after two years!

@ionesmum
Next time your GP tells you all the things that will supposedly go wrong if you carry on breastfeeding, can you ask her which scientific evidence (papers etc.) she bases her fears on? I bet she can't name any!!! She might know one child that was breastfed for more than 12 months and then became anaemic... but that's not scientific evidence!
(Don't worry, I probably wouldn't ask her for proof either - I'm not very good at confrontations in RL!)

[PrettyCandles]

Ionesmum !

I bf dd until 22m and until 18 or 19m she had about 4 feeds a day. She was always a brilliant eater and a stocky, healthy child. The only problem was that cow's milk made her vomit - IMO a very good reason for continuing with breastfeeding.

Oh and there's also that 'minor' benefit of reducing your chance of developing breast cancer.

Oooo such stupid advice really bugs me!

[HunkerMunker]

HappyMumof2 - some GPs and HVs also recommend formula top-ups for breastfed babies from birth. I think the answer you're looking for is 'because a lot of them know nothing about breastfeeding'!!

[vicdubya]

I like this thread.

Soon will be approaching the 12 month mark & ds doesn;t seem to be showing any sign of wanting to give up so planning to continue for the moment. No reason not to, really.

I recently moved and had to change HV and my old one was absolutely lovely and the new one is a po faced old cow who doesn't even bother to say hello when you go to the clinic (well not to me anyway).

I have stopped going to see her now as I feel I might be given similar unwanted advice and I think ds is doing just fine on his 4 BF's a day plus three good solid meals, ahem!

I am worried tho that some HV's do seem to know so little about BF.

Surely it's a very important part of their jobs?

Vicky x

[winnie]

My GP was the same ionesmum... it makes me so cross!

What is wrong with Happy baby = Happy Mummy (and vice versa)?

If it feels right for you and your baby keep doing it and don't be concerned about what your GP says.