reasons to carry on bfing after 12 mths?

[MissChief]

..as a) i'm back at work (p/t) so might all go belly-up anyway
b) I'm starting to find people inc my own MIL being rather negative about carrying on (even past 6 mths wd you believe?). dh however is v supportive

Anyway, I'm wondering to what extent a baby post-12 mths still benefits from the antibodies in a mother's mils? Any other benefits other than the lovely closeness/comfort??
Also benefits to me - believe breast cancer rates only reduced if mother's under 30 (unfortunately I@m not) so other than convenience, no benefit to me as such

none then? or does no-one care , humph..
confusing, tbh - believe WHO recommends bfing for 2 or 3 years yet i'm starting to feel like an outcast for still bfing. Should I hide indoors or just stop?

if you want to keep going then keep going

I am still feeding at 17 mths although we are down to 2 feeds a day now plus any night feeds

is that first thing/last thing at night then?
i'm wondering how it's going to fit with work - he often only needs 2x a day, which wd work but sometimes watns 4x a day which is increasingly hard if we're out and wd be impossible on days I work.

WHO recommend feeding to 2 years. i went back to work at 12months too, feed 2-3 times a day - more when he is ill or upset. is good because don't have to bother with horrid little cups of milk. have no intention of giving up - is v useful calming tool, good for him, and less hassle. tell your mil to get stuffed.

glad, I'm not alone. V v tempted to tell MIL that, wdn't have done much for harmonious family rels though so ended up making petty digs about her to dh all w/e, think because i was so pissed off by what she said about bfing!

i only feed at home - after a year supply is well established, no probs with engorgement or anything, on work days is twice, home days 3-4.

oh, sounds like you've got it sorted then, fishie! So no problems with yr supply due to only feeding 2x on work days? is dc ok when you're at work on the milk front?

Keep going if you both still want to. I am still bf ds at 16mths, and my life would be much harder without it. When he's been ill and off solid food he's still taken plenty of milk, and it is instant comfort in so many situations. And if I wasn't still bf I would never get ds to sleep! I think it is great that your dh is supportive. My dp is too and I find it a big help that we are a united front against the negative relatives
There are definitely benefits of bf after 12 mths - links have been posted here before - might see if I can find something...

i read something interesting the other day....

breast cancer rates reduced by 4 % for each child you breastfeed

by 7% for each child you bear!

thanks, yes, why are relatives negative? so stuck in the dark ages (or not actually, post-war yrs more like..) I wdn't dream of saying to a bottle-feeding mum "oh, that's inappropriate at X age", yet others feel they can comments on my bfing ds!

sorry, that was to Tatties.
NAO - i'd heard that too, amazing stats (though sure also read the cancer one was for mums under 30?)

In the second year (12-23 months), 448 mL of breastmilk provides:
29% of energy requirements
43% of protein requirements
36% of calcium requirements
75% of vitamin A requirements
76% of folate requirements
94% of vitamin B12 requirements
60% of vitamin C requirements
[Dewey KG. Nutrition, Growth, and Complementary Feeding of the Breastfed Infant. Pediatric Clinics of North America. February 2001;48(1).]

Children weaned before two years of age are at increased risk of illness (as per the American Academy of Family Physicians, although I can't find a specific reference).

Nursing toddlers between the ages of 16 and 30 months have been found to have fewer illnesses and illnesses of shorter duration than their non-nursing peers.
[Gulick EE. The effects of breastfeeding on toddler health. Pediatr Nurs. 1986 Jan-Feb;12(1):51-4.]

Antibodies are abundant in human milk throughout lactation. In fact, some of the immune factors in breastmilk increase in concentration during the second year.
[Goldman AS, Goldblum RM, Garza C. Immunologic components in human milk during the second year of lactation. Acta Paediatr Scand. 1983 May;72(3):461-2.]

Apart from breast cancer (hadn't heard the under-30 thing myself), increased time spent bf also offers some protection against ovarian cancer:

Gwinn ML, Lee NC, Rhodes PH, Layde PM, Rubin GL. Pregnancy, breastfeeding and oral contraceptives and the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer. J Clin Epidemiol 1990;43:559-68.

Hartge P, Schiffman MH, Hoover R, McGowan L, Lesher L, Norris HJ. A case control study of epithelial ovarian cancer. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1989;161:10-6.

Rosenblatt KA, Thomas DB, and the WHO collaborative study of neoplasia and steroid contraceptives. Lactation and the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer. International J Epidemiol 1993;22:192-7.

Schneider AP. Risk factor for ovarian cancer. N Engl J Med. 1987 Aug 20;317(8):508-9.

and uterine cancer:

Brock KE et al. Sexual, reproductive and contraceptive risk factors for carcinoma-in-situ of the uterine cervix in Sydney. Med J Aust. 1989 Feb 6;150(3):125-30.

and endometrial cancer:

Rosenblatt KA, Thomas DB, and the WHO collaborative study of neoplasia and steroid contraceptives. Prolonged Lactation and endometrial cancer. Int J Epidemiol 1995;24:499-503. [I think this may only apply to lactational amenorrhea, though, although I'm not sure]

and osteoporosis:

Blaauw, R. et al. Risk factors for development of osteoporosis in a South African population. SAMJ 1994; 84:328-32.

and rheumatoid arthritis:

Karlson EW, Mandl LA, Hankinson SE, Grodstein F. Do breast-feeding and other reproductive factors influence future risk of rheumatoid arthritis? Results from the Nurses' Health Study. Arthritis Rheum. 2004 Nov;50(11):3458-67.

It's also great for calming down from tantrums (when they get to the I'd-really-like-to-stop-this-tantrum-now-but-I'm-all-overwhelmed-by-my-emotions stage).

maybe that's the best way, psychobabble. Personally, don't want to be militant about it, it's too intimate & lovely a thing to taint in that way. I think i'll try to carry on, but not in public any more.

as far as I am concerned the benefits of breastfeeding are the world's best kept secret and that thought helped me to feed til mine gave it up themselves one early (ie 13 months) two "late" (ie soon after two years) at that time it was just odd occassions and at bedtime. I just kept thinking I will not share the benefits with anyone who does not respect my parenting choices as they wont understand and why should I share what I know. That said I can't remember half of the benefits now apart from the overstated ones but the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers is an ideal source, will try to do a link later. However, I have always fully understood and respected mothers who chose or have to bottle feed and that partly is where I feel they and others should do the same for breastfeeders!

thx Leah - all good stuff, isn't it? I mean it's obvious, isn't it, that human milk is going to be better for humans than milk meant for baby cows..Why don't more people see it that way?

P.S. I work full-time and bf DS (18 months) twice a day on working days. At weekends and holidays it might be 3 or 4 times a day, or might still be only twice. We only bf at home because it doesn't occur to him to ask anywhere else (he's too busy to think of it).

Just to add my 2p worth - I'm working 3 days a week and still feeding ds (14 months). As other posters have said - I feed 2x per day on work days and usually 3 when we're home. No probs with supply or engorgement etc.

I don't feed in public anymore, partly cos he doesn't really want it, and partly because I have started to feel a bit self conscious. I know my family are a bit freaked out but at least they're keeping quiet about it (helps that they live 300 miles away).

DH very supportive - I think because it calms ds down so effectively.

Good to hear about all the nutritional benefits, especially when he's teething and not eating properly.

Keep going misschief!

I fed DS1 until 22m, and was really glad that I did when he got a really bad chest infection & bronchiolitis at 20m. He stopped eating completely for over a week, and lost 25% of his body weight in a fortnight. He went from 1/2 feeds a day, to feeding on demand - probably 8/10 times a day. My body coped fine, even though I was 3m pg, and I had no engorgement problems when he got better and we went back to our normal arrangments

With regards to what LeahE said about antibodies increasing in the second year, I've read similar things, and that the antibodies are vital at this time as toddlers are more likely to catch bugs from increasing social circles at nursery etc.

Keep going for as long as you're both happy with it

thanks all, i'm really encouraged now

Glad to hear you are feeling more positive MissChief

I couldn't find the thing I was looking for but I think most of the benefits have been covered here anyway. I always find the Kellymom and ABM websites very encouraging. I think in my case relatives can be negative due to genuine ignorance on the subject rather than a real aversion - I always try to educate if I can!

i bf my 2nd daughter till she 2 years... i got alot of negative comments off my family, but she is my baby and both enjoyed it.
glad u are carring on xxx

Great for soothing tantrums. And re-connecting after coming back from work.