What % of children are bf until their 2nd birthday?

[Winterclause]

Does anyone know?!

We were having a discussion today and I thought about 10% but my friend thought it was about 1%!

We did google but couldn't find anything specific to the uk!

We may have some research soon, I know in the study my DS2 is in, it's recording if a child has any breastmilk (and this study goes from 0-3 years, he's 2 years now) as part of it. Would be interesting to find out.

Ooh I'll look forward to that, Spork.

I bang on about this, but the fact that "they" only publish the 26w ebf figure isn't helpful, because it's knackered by one spoonful of mashed carrot

I think that collecting "any bm" data whenever infants are seen routinely by HCPs (weight clinics, jabs, checks) would encourage people. Ok maybe 1% are ebf at six months, but maybe 10% have some solids and then all their milk feeds from the breast and another 10% have a mixture of ff, bf and solids. So 26% are still bf (say) which makes you feel less unusual.

or that post but with better arithmetic...

Bf dd1 till she was 4
Ds1 till about 2.5
Dd2 2.5 as well
Ds2 21 months still bf.

It does make me exhausted though especially once they get to 18 mths as all still fed throughout the night.
Wil be pleased when ds stops. I've been pregnant and/or bf for the last 13years!

It's recorded when we go for jabs. There is a section on the vaccination page in the red book asking if they had any breast milk, and the page is torn out and kept by the nurse.

This was for the first MMR batch, so at 12 months plus, as well as the previous jabs.

The first 3 lots have boxes for totally, partially and not at all breastfeeding. The MMR one asks if breastfeeding at all at 1st birthday. Nothing on the booster page.

So data up to 1 yr is available, for the children who are vaccinated.

The DD watching QI next to me now and the little boy who was here at new year

Not sure how any one would collect figures because no one ever asks if your still BFing after a year.

At birth is feed within 48h

Barbeasty we have that box too. They don't bother asking.

Agree with you Horatia - 34% of babies are breastfed at 6 months, which paints a very different picture to the 1% that EBF!

Barbeasty I've never been asked at vaccinations although the boxes are there. So I've breastfed two babies past the age of 2 & nobody knows. I know quite a few people who have fed over 2 years though.

I've also never been asked at vaccinations, and his last vaccination (pre-school boosters) they didn't even write in the red book

lilyaldrin they managed to record vaccinations my DD hadn't yet had complete with false dates

There are no UK-wide figures for post 9 mths. UK infant feeding survey done every 5 years collects up to 9 mths (iirc). The survey is not everyone in the UK - it is a sample of about 9000 mothers.

There are locally-collected figures in England and they may be done in different ways - they may use a return form from the red book or some other method. They may not actually collect data from each and every individual mother. The survey may be done on a sampling.

Just because you haven't been asked personally does not mean no one is collecting data.

I think it's difficult to gain an accurate answer because some people think to be still bf after 12 months is weird.
This really annoys me. I'm am more annoyed at lying to people saying I only feed at night to avoid scorn. My ds is 10 months and showing no signs of giving up.

I gave up telling people in the end- even my HV and GP. Most of my close family thought I was weird. Only my OH and LLL friends knew.

Not very many. I know a fair few but that's more to do with the people I hung/hang around with (NCT/ Steiner types) rather than representative of the country at large.

In fact now I think about it my HV didn't ask me any more once DD reached the age of 6 months, so I doubt there are any accurate figures.

I don't know. Fair amount anecdotally, mainly at night, funnily enough many of the more 'baby led'? or maybe 'natural parenting' mothers I know (I mean those who consider breastfeeding very important, sorry, I can't think of a way to describe it) work in the university sector and are back at work fairly quickly, so are only able to do it at night really.

That's just where we live.

I fed my first to 16mo, second to 4 and a half, and third is only just one and still bf.

Gosh, if "at birth" means first feed, where does that leave DD3 who was fed exclusively on expressed milk through a NG tube for the first week of her life? Would she be recorded as bf?

Hmm good question. I understood the definition to be "put baby to breast within 48 hours". But then at 6 to 8 weeks it's "receiving breast milk". Strange.

Thanks everyone!

kingRollo those kellymom charts are interesting. It says in Australia 9% are still bf at 18months and 5% at 2yo. And in the USA 8% are still bf at 18months.

I would think their stats would be similar to the UK so maybe 5% in the uk still bf at 2yo?!

Hedgehog - I've been continuosly breast feeding for over 7 years and you are the first person I've heard that has done longer! DS2 is nearly 5 and still wants to carry on. I'd personally like him to stop now, but hey ho.

Hi - another one here- I continuoulsy breastfed for 7 and a half years without a break over two pregnancies.