So is it just me who has viscerally negative reactions to talk about breastfeeding 4 or 5 year olds

[TwigorTreat]

Now look I know its different strokes for different folks and I am not judging anyone as I know logically that its fine and anyone who does is doing what they deem their very best for their own children.

But I am talking about a experiencing a sense of distaste that I cannot help. I do have a negative and almost physical reaction to the thought of breastfeeding my 3 year old let alone an older child. And I have discussed this before when it came to extending breastfeeding for my own child beyond 6 months and with the discussion was capable of making it past that psychological barrier to 11 months.

Perhaps the thought of having a reasonable discussion over this particular reaction is just a step too far for us on Mumsnet. But I thought I'd give it a go anyway .. what, with it being Saturday and all that.

Anyone who experiences the same sense of negativity will no doubt need to gulp down hard before adding to this discussion. Just as anyone who is on the 'other side of the fence' will need to take copious amounts of oxygen into their system to calm down before posting .. I hope both sides do though... it could be interesting and educational

Did you read the page I linked to, seeker?

great link fran

Franny, your table of % means nothing, actually. So, breastmilk provides these nutrients. So do other foods.

witches, my point was that I dont think there is an IQ difference!

Scientific evidence should not be accepted just because it is "scientific." The interpretation is just as important as the study.

Yes, I did read it - and it said that there is little research about post 24 month feeding, apart from a study in Bangladesh, where it is reasonable to suppose that at least some of the study group would have sadly had a less than optimal diet were it not for breast milk.

Of course there is nutrition in breast milk, but what I am saying is that a child eating a healthy diet beyond 2 doesn't actually need it the way an infant does.

I don't see anything wrong with saying that I bf my daughter til she was 3 because we both liked it. She was eating a good, balanced, varied diet, and I have no doubt that she would still be the incredibly healthy 11 year old she is today if she had stopped at 24 months -or even 12 months.

~Did you read the page I linked to, seeker?~

I linked to the same page Franny earlier in this thread too. Seeker ignored both links and the wealth of evidence, as she chooses to disbelieve it

Yes, I think that those % need a contest. Breastfeeding an otherwise picky toddler will be more nutritionally important than b/feeding a toddler with a varied diet. Doesn't stop it being nutritious though.

Sorry, Witches, I hadn't meant to ignore your earlier link

Nightynight, we were discussing whether breastmilk was nutritionally useful after the first year. The figures quoted show conclusively that it is. Not quite sure how that "means nothing".

Hang on - tell me where I have chosen to ignore anything? I am, surely allowed to quetion? There is NOT a wealth of evidence about the nutritional benefits of ebf. Please read my 9.59 post.

QUOTE FROM www.granitescientific.com/weaningages.pdf
No empirical study to date has demonstrated that
extended nursing is harmful, but a number of previously cited studies have found benefits.
END QUOTE

Franny, it means nothing because it is only half the story. I am sure that breastmilk would provide a good source of nutrition to me. An important source, if I didn't eat an otherwise varied diet. But I think I'll let my mother off, on this one.

Witches, the last paper you linked to, talks only about reasons for weaning. It says in the conclusions that studies have shown benefits. But as I already said, these benefits discussed merely talk about the benefits of breastmilk. They dont show that breastmilk provides advantages to the children that (a) outweigh the disadvantages and (b) can't be gained from other sources.

Well my 9 month old is walking and says a few words so maybe I should stop feeding him too? He also signs milk and tries to pull my top up or down to get to the milk.

"it means nothing because it is only half the story."

no, it is the whole story in that it was being questioned whether breastmilk was in fact nutritionally useful for children over 1. The figures I gave show that it is. If you want to question whether it is appropriate or desirable for older children to breastfeed, that is a whole other question.

Btw, I don't think jokey allusions to adults breastfeeding are particularly useful or appropriate here.

My newborn used to ask for milk. Should I have told him, no he was too old, now he could ask for it?

OK Witches everywhere -I've read that link now too. Unless I'm missing something, the only mention of nutritional advantage is a reference to the Innocenti Declaration, which recemmends feeding to 2 years and beyond. What I can't understand it why there doesn't seem to be anywhere a recent scientific paper actually saying what the nutritional benfits are. It all seems to be anecdotal.

Franny, it is not jokey. It is a serious point.

Breastmilk is nutritionally useful to a 2 year old.
Breastmilk is nutritionally useful to a 3 year old.
Breastmilk is nutritionally useful to a 4 year old.
Breastmilk is nutritionally useful to a 40 year old.

The nutritional content of breastmilk does NOT on its own constitute an argument for extended breastfeeding.

"I think I'll let my mother off, on this one. "

this wasn't a joke?

Franny, why don't you address the point, instead of picking holes in my posting style?

An aside comment, does not detract from the point, surely? And no, I dont agree that it was in bad taste or inappropriate.

obviously breastmilk is of nutritional benefit to a child what ever their age. but breastfeeding a baby/toddler/child is more than just nutrition. the benefits of breastfeeding are about the skin to skin contact, the emotional bond and understanding between a mother and her child, the nurturing, not just the nutrition.

unfortunately with the prevelance of bottle feeding in this country it seems to have been forgotten that feeding a baby/child is not just about getting calories/vitamins in them.

BeautifulDays ...beautifully put

Beautifully put indeed - and almost exactly what I said earlier!

I am not trying to pick holes in your posting style. I am trying to let you know that jokes about adults breastfeeding, are really inappropriate on a thread discussing extended breastfeeding in children. A lot of women find jokes like this hurtful and distressing. I didn't think you were intentionally setting out to be hurtful or upset people, so I wanted to tell you that I didn't think such comments were a good idea.

I have addressed the point! Several times.

We are talking about extended b'feeding though, not breast vs bottle.
If I could see clear benefits, then I'd have been breastfeeding til 7 or whatever.

A question to extended breastfeeders - this is serious btw, not trying to have a dig or anything - Do any of you have children that show the sort of innocent precocious sexual behaviour in toddlers and small boys, discussed at times on MN?
(Please dont go off on one about breasts/sex/loss of innocence/depraved immoral society etc!) This sort of behaviour does exist, but it is hard to believe if you havent experienced it yourself.
Not in my family, but I heard about a little boy who grew up on a farm, knew all the facts of life, and was discovered at 5 years old, innocently trying to have sex with a little girl.
would you feel any qualms about breastfeeding this little boy?

Franny, sorry but I find that a little precious.