Any thoughts on whether extended breastfeeding causes speech delays ?

[freshbudsofspring]

My son has a speech delay ( his only issue) and was breastfeed until 2 years. I weaned him off then with his last feed at 2 years & one month.

Another friend I happen to know breastfed to about 2 yrs, her son also has a expressive speech delay.

My neighbour breast fed until just before 3 years and whilst her daughter has a delay with certain letter sounds. Apparently certain sounds shouldn't be substituted after around 3 yrs. She is now 4.5 and still having this issue. I've name changed so hopefully not outing.

I know bottles aren't recommended after 1 yrs due to speech and dental health issues. Any thoughts on bf ?

I’m bf my 11m old and he’s already got half a dozen words or more. Just this week he pointed at the cat and said ‘cat. There.’ So I’m not worried about his speech.

Conscious that’s just one anecdote, but I think your examples may also be.

Yes totally, I know. My son had a few words at 1, but then just got stuck.

I think it is still relatively uncommon to breastfeed past 1 years. I expect most people give up on the return to work if they are still feeding by then.

It's just a thought, I've always seen breastfeeding as a big positive. It's weird I only know a few children with speech delays and they all have been breastfed until at least 2. Coincidence ?!

I'm a speech and language therapist. There is no correlation between extended breast feeding and delays in speech sound production.

@AfterGlowWorm tats reassuring thank you. Is it true that bottle feeding past one years can affect speech ? I had heard that and just wondered why if so that breast feeding wouldn't ?

I don't think that bottles after 1 impacting on speech development is backed up by robust research. In my opinion it's just something people say to encourage parents to wean on to cups.

What does impact speech sound clarity is talking with something in your mouth. So if a child has a dummy (outside of nap/bedtimes) or is holding a bottle in their mouth and talking at the same time. That can result in children learning incorrect speech production.

So, in theory if your child was holding your nipple in their mouth and talking at the same time for much of the day, it could affect their speech. But it reality it's less likely to happen with your boob rather than bottle, for practical reasons!