What are the benefits of Bf past 6 months?

[CreamOfTomatoSoup]

Just wondering... Do health benefits continue? Any other advantages? I'm going back to work 2 days a week when DS is a year old, is it worth continuing then?

Yes, health benefits continue. There are loooooads of benefits, for you as well! Have a look here for some of the benefits. As well as health benefits, you'll be saving money by not having to buy formula.

A lot of mothers find breastfeeding invaluable as a parenting tool as a child gets older- scared, bored, tired, hurt children are very quickly cheered up with a quick breastfeed.

The WHO recommends breastfeeding for 2 years and beyond- this is a global recommendation, not just for developing countries. However long you decide to breastfeed, there will always be benefits for you and your baby :)

I think the WHO recommends it for its immune benefits (and obviously because in developing countries it's a disease-free source of nutrition/fluid). You continue to pass antibodies etc to your child, so protecting them against anything you have come into contact with.

what benefits are there for the mother after 6 months/ a year? I honestly can't think of any

It will also save you money on formula up until a year.

For the mother? Decreased risk of several different types of cancer, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, some mothers still find a delay to their periods returning... there are lots :)

If you have any flights planned in the next few months, it's great to have the magic feeding option and not have to faff with formula and explaining to security. Oh, and for teething.

I thought the longer you breastfed for, the less chance of developing breast cancer?

www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-help/about-cancer/cancer-questions/how-is-breast-feeding-related-to-breast-cancer

My gran and great aunt, who did not bf both developed breast cancer. My mum and I are hoping that breastfeeding will help increase our chances of avoiding it.

by what %?, and at how many months does it plateau?

the cancer research doesn't seem to differentiate between BFing a number of babies, and feeding toddlers (which is a different thing really)

like is the % the same if you BF one child for years
because it reads like its accumulated years by BFing a number of babies

This is a good article about breast cancer and breastfeeding. It's been estimated that the risk is lowered by approx 4% for every year you breastfeed.

For me, to put it another way, what are the advantages of FF over 6 months? Personally, I BF over 6 months not only for the health benefits (to me and the DDs), but because FF seemed like a big faff and totally unnecessary expense. I expressed if I wanted to leave the baby. It was also very nice to put off my periods returning. In my case, I was on mat leave for a year, but I guess it would have been different if I had returned to work sooner. I honestly can't think of any reasons why I would have FF after 6 months.

Also, OP, when you return to work, you could always BF on the days when you are not at work, and give cow's milk on the days you work. Your supply will almost certainly be robust enough by then to cope.

I accidentally read this thread as what are the benefits of boyfriends past six months.

queen

I agree, that for me it was almost of a case of why wouldn't you? I found the first few weeks the hardest, had a few tough times with cluster feeding and growth spurts, and then 6 months+ you get to reap the rewards of an established supply, free milk at the right temp, easy way to calm/soothe/get baby to sleep and you can easily leave dc to go to work/night out etc too. I actually prefer bf after 6 months because I no longer felt the pressure of me being the only one that could feed the baby - it just feels like a bonus to be able to do it.

DDs never had expressed milk or formula. They just had a banana or something if they were hungry when I was out, and cows' milk post 12 months.

It makes sense that all the immunological benefits continue as long as you feed. Each feed will contain human growth hormones, vitamins and a cocktail of immunological benefits. That won't change just because they're older.

bf delayed my periods for 18 / 20 months with my children. Big plus! Also having immediate comfort on tap was a lifesaver.

More flippantly, you can spend money on formula to get calories into your child, or use that money on yummy cake to generate the same effect via bf...

Annoyingly dd is since 6mo a right pain to feed, violent little thing, but I figure bf is the second most tedious way to feed her. She'd better shape up if she wants to get any bf after 13months (will continue till then so she can have it after MMR. Hopefully she'll stop trying to claw my eyes out and punching me by then)

Thanks.

I had a very difficult start to BF (topping up with formula) and planned on stopping at 6 months because it was such a drag for me, so at 5.5 months I started introducing a few bottles during the day. When we got to 6 months I was feeding him morning, afternoon evening and, if we're unlucky and he wakes, at night. I've realised I really enjoy it and it's so much easier than racing downstairs in the middle of the night to make up a bottle. So I think I will keep going and reassess when I return to work, although planning a trip to Canada when he's 15 months so I'll keep the aeroplane tip in mind!

Also there are no benefits to boyfriends past 6 months, leave the bastard.

The benefits for me past 6/12 months was:
easier!
no washing/sterilising bottles
cheaper
healthier for DS than cow's milk
less hassle going camping/on holiday
stopped his ears hurting on the plane
easy to get him to sleep when out
reduces cancer risk for me

Totally agree with Skiffen - I found it really easy/convenient after 6 months and really couldn't be bothered switching to formula, especially as the gaps between feeds/sleep habits meant I could actually go out and do stuff without the baby.

Again, might be different if you had to go back to work at 6 months - I went back when DS1 was 10 months and at that stage he was happy with just one bottle of EBM while I was away (he dropped that shortly afterwards at about a year). Ended up continuing to feed him morning and evening until he was two and a half.

I honestly think my DS was ill less frequently than his non-bf friends - I think this is the main advantage of carrying on.