Brace yourselves

[Husbandno1]

NC as this may be a controversial topic....

My wife and I are having a ‘lively discussion’ about breastfeeding. There appears to be mixed evidence online. So we thought we would ask this community and see what others thought.
What age do most people stop breastfeeding their child at?
(I have suggested a year btw)
YABU - a year is way too early, children need that boob for ages to come!
YANBU - we/I stopped breastfeeding my child at a year (or under)

Three months with DS, 12 months with DD.

Both were due to going back to work and needing to travel.

My DSis breastfed until over 3 years and had a devil of a job stopping. I'd do it before they can talk!

Both of my babies made that decision for themselves. They each had enough at nine months and refused to feed after that despite being ebf.

I breastfed all mine. Some for under a year, some for over a year. I did what was right for them to begin with (including formula for my premature one) and then what was right for me at the end.

There is no wrong or right time to finish breastfeeding, it is purely down to individual choice.

As I recall it's something that gets decided bw mother and child. Weird that you should have a strong opinion really.

Loads of people BF for more than a year.

What is your actual problem here?

Till baby and wife want to.

Its entirely the mother's choice

Most women stop by 6 weeks in the U.K.

No place for a lively discussion and I’m not sure why you care what anyone else did.

How about whenever the mother wants to stop?

Why does it matter what strangers on MN think?

Frankly it doesn’t even matter what YOU think even if it is your child.
If you’re not the breastfeeding mother, pipe down

@cheeseislife8

Its entirely the mother's choice

Well, not entirely. Both mine had quite strong opinions on the subject, both for and against.

So, I'm going to be controversial and suggest that both parents should have some sort of say in breastfeeding. It is the healthiest form of feeding an infant until ATLEAST two years old. Therefore I think partners play a crucial role in supporting mothers to breastfeed up until this point. We are equally responsible for our child's health right?!
Also, that partner can support the mother to breastfeed through challenges. These might be interpretted by medics and others as a woman "not being able" to breastfeed. Actually, with the correct support pretty much all women can breastfeed, though some may find it trickier than others. Long term it will be the easiest, healthiest and cheapest way of feeding. HTH

No wonder you’re having a “lively discussion.” You couldn’t even put it up for a vote without trying to put your argument in - infantalizing, overdramatic language for the other position “need the boob for ages to come” (no time included) versus the language used for your own position “breastfeeding for a year.” Yeah, “discussing” things with you must be an absolute treat.

As others have said, WHO recommends 2 yrs, but this isn't always possible, for various reasons. Recommended and reality can be quite different, and the average age to breastfeed a child to is much less than 2. That doesn't mean the WHO advice is wrong, it just means it isn't possible for whatever reason. For example, my mum's milk dried up suddenly due to acute stress when i was 4 months and my older sibling was 15 months. Nothing she could do.

I breastfed my eldest when she was 2. I breastfed my youngest until he was almost 4.

If it works for the family then it is fine to breastfeed for as long as you want.

Why have you suggested a year? What will the impact be on you if they both want to continue longer than a year, or if they stop before a year?

WHO recommends 2 years. Many countries go til 4 or 5. UK has very low breastfeeding rates, globally speaking, and that's not necessarily something for us to be proud of. We also have woeful support for breastfeeding, and many people find they can't - either physiologically can't, or can't because they weren't supported in getting it established.

www.naturalchild.org/articles/guest/ruth_kamnitzer.html

This is an interesting read on breastfeeding in other parts of the world.

Basically, it's up to your wife, and whatever she decides is right for her.

Probably 3ish for the younger two- I just really loved it and so did they. My husband thought it went on a bit too long but obviously he knew (not being a total controlling weirdo) that it was basically my choice.

I lasted 2 days. I had all the best intentions and everyone said his latch was perfect but he screamed constantly and my nipples were scabs. I expressed but dried up after 2 weeks.

When mum and baby are ready to stop. We were 19 months. Not your decision.

It’s just one of those questions that has no definitive answer. Every woman will feel differently.

It might be influenced by a range of factors:

How long the mum wants to
How long the baby wants to
Returning to work
Milk supply
Comfort nursing
Feeding to sleep
Etc etc etc

You say a year, and many people feel there is no need beyond that. But children get the immunological, social, psychological and dietary benefits of breastfeeding for as long as they do it. The WHO recommends two years. Biologically, the natural weaning age is somewhere between two and seven years old.

Equally, many women stop before one because it’s right for them to do so. They don’t want to continue, or circumstances prevent it. That’s completely valid too.

Ultimately, whatever your partner decides, your job is to support that choice.

OP hasn't been back so I would caption people to be a little judicious about what they post. There are some VERY weird perverts out there in the internet.

I stopped at about 10 months and regret it. Most people probably do stop before 12 months, but there's not wrong or right.

Oh, wait. I see you weren't discussing what your wife should be thinking of doing, just discussing the actual stats?

In that case, I think it's around 6 weeks in the uk. So your suggestion of a year is pretty far off I'm afraid!

I BF mine for one year. That's when they benefit significantly (in a developed nation).

My husband and I discussed this and agreed on this. Whilst he'd never have put pressure on me to BF longer than I felt able to, they're his children, and I'm his wife, so of course he's part of the decision making, like the OP.

Mine were 2.8 and 4. Years old.

I believe the average to be around 6 months - 1 year

Breastfeeding should stop when either the mother or child wants to stop, whichever comes first. There is no time limit.