i've fired this off. I thought you should see it WTSS since I have plagiarised it terribly
I've just read the response to a letter printed in the November issue of Junior magazine. Your columnist, Dr Elaine Crabtree, gave a misleading, prejudiced and wholly incorrect answer to the letter asking about breastfeeding a toddler. I have copied some of the content of this letter from a friend who has also written to you because it contains all the pertinent references which I believe need emphasising. I have included some further references.
There are numerous studies (mainly from the American Association of Pediatrics and the World Health Organisation) which show that breastfeeding a child beyond the age of 1 has significant benefits for mother and child.
The American Academy of Family Physicians notes that children weaned before two years of age are at increased risk of illness (AAFP 2001).
The World Health Organization emphasises the importance of nursing up to two years of age or beyond (WHO 1992, WHO 2002).
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that "Breastfeeding should be continued for at least the first year of life and beyond for as long as mutually desired by mother and child... Increased duration of breastfeeding confers significant health and developmental benefits for the child and the mother... There is no upper limit to the duration of breastfeeding and no evidence of psychological or developmental harm from breastfeeding into the third year of life or longer." (AAP 2005)
There is no evidence anywhere to suggest that 'breastfeeding is detrimental to the mothers health'. In fact, breastfeeding reduces the risk of uterine cancer, breast cancer and ovarian cancer. Breastfeeding also protects against osteoporosis (due to the effects breastfeeding has on menses). It does not cause it as suggested by Dr Crabtree.
It is also worth noting that healthy, full-term babies have enough iron stores in their bodies to last for at least the first six months. The current research indicates that a baby's iron stores should last between six and twelve months, depending upon the baby. The iron in breastmilk is better absorbed than that from other sources. The vitamin C and high lactose levels in breastmilk aid in iron absorption. Additionally, in a study, done by Pisacane in 1995, the researchers concluded that babies who were exclusively breastfed for 7 months (and were not give iron supplements or iron-fortified cereals) had significantly higher hemoglobin levels at one year than breastfed babies who received solid foods earlier than seven months. The researchers found no cases of anemia within the first year in babies breastfed exclusively for seven months and concluded that breastfeeding exclusively for seven months reduces the risk of anemia.
The opinion that a mother may be bitten while breastfeeding not based on any research and is of no concern to anyone but the mother, and simply displays further ignorance from Dr Crabtree, who it would seem has little or no experience of ?extended? breastfeeding.
It may be that Dr Crabtree is referring in her answer to mothers exclusively breastfeeding toddlers and offering no other foods. If this is the case, she should be advising extreme medical intervention as this is clearly not recommended by any health authority, however, her comments regarding the lack of volume of milk which = little or no nutritional value indicates that this is not what she meant at all. Either way, her response was both ill-informed and lazy. Would she suggest not giving cows milk to a 2+ year old either? I?m not entirely sure what the difference is (apart from one being human milk, and one being cows milk).
Dr Crabtree owes your readers an apology or an explanation.
Yours sincerely,