Why do people breastfeed past 1year old?

[Mommabear20]

Not a bashing thread, I'm genuinely interested in peoples reasons!

My DD was formula fed and once she was a year old and could drink cows milk, she stopped formula completely and no longer uses bottles at all.

So my question is, if you have breastfed your DC past 1 year when it's no longer needed for their nutrition, why do/did you continue?

My mum bf me for 6 months. I’ve got PCOS and I’m clinically obese. I also have breast hypoplasia which is linked to the PCOS. Both my DDs had to be formula fed, they didn’t qualify for donor milk. My eldest isn’t over weight and certainly not intellectually impaired. But that’s beside the point.

I also find it a bit strange - even more so as they come up to two. The other day someone in here was breastfeeding a four year old - I don't get that at all

Just out of interest @Lifeisnteasy, did you feed past 1 year?

There just never seemed to be a good enough reason to stop tbh. I just trusted my instincts. I don’t really understand anyone who sets an age limit. Each day they are only one day older than the day before so what makes that day ‘too old’ when it was ok the day before?

I let both my DC decide. DS self weaned at 2 and DD a week after her 4th birthday.

Second was prem, in hospital until 9 weeks. Bf him until he was 2.5 years. Why ? Because I could.

I'm still bf my 2 yo. basically because we want to!

but otherwise, because the WHO recommend to bf till 2 or beyond, it makes life easier, its good for him, at age 1 I couldn't imagine taking away something that gave him so much comfort and he loved so much.

I fully intended to BF until two (as the recommendations) - but only made it to 14 months, partly because I gave DS a bottle of cow's milk at 12 months and he drank it down like it was my milk which rather diminished my will to pump whilst at work! I wish I hadn't done that looking back - whilst it is seems normal, it's not really is it - to nick another mammals milk and drink that rather than our own, and definitely wasn't as good for him! Still, he's ok - he did get his first old and then ear infection in quick succession when I stopped giving him my milk though.

I didn't know how to stop - my son showed no sign of wanting to stop or slow down.
It was the easiest way to stop him crying during a pandemic.
I felt like it might help protect him against covid too (probably not foolproof but there is some evidence)

My DD wasn't much into solid foods until she way way over 12 months old, so she did need breast milk for nutritional value.

She then continued until 3.5 years before naturally weaning because that is normal and healthy for humans.

I did because

1. Health benefits for the baby.
2. It was so cuddly and easy
3. I'm a bit lazy.

I mean as a grown woman surely you’re aware there’s a multitude of reasons that people do things differently than ourselves. Does it really confuse you that since your child stopped having formula and bottles at age 1 others don’t do this?

People do what works for them and their child.

The WHO recommends 2 years

If you look at studies that compare human development to development in other mammals our equivalent milk discontinuation age should actually be even higher.

@WhiskersPete

The WHO recommends doing it for a year as it's good for them

WHO recommends 2 years as there are proven benefits for mother and child including immunity and gut health an lowers risk of breast and ovarian cancers for mother. There was research on this published just last week.

I suspect that's because in many parts of the world it is better for the children because the option would be the local polluted dirty water.

My first 2 self weaned at 14/15 months, just weren’t interested anymore. My third might have gone on longer but I’d had enough at 14 months! I’ve since discovered that we have the BRCA1 gene in the family so I’m hoping to see some benefit for myself as well.

I’ve known loads of people who still give their babies bottles of milk before bed way past 12 months or dummies at 2/3, a friend use to put nesquik in her daughters milk bottles when she was about 2 as “she wouldn’t drink it otherwise” so let’s not make out like everyone ditches bottles at 12m people do things differently 🤷🏻‍♀️

I suspect that's because in many parts of the world it is better for the children because the option would be the local polluted dirty water

It's not. Someone posted the full benefits earlier ^

Do you only feed your child things that are absolutely necessary"for nutrition"?

There are loads of benefits past a year! Past a year gives long lasting protection from lots of different illnesses, that continues after breastfeeding has stopped. It also keeps mothers weight down, and is a good soother for the baby

Where is the OP?

If you’re here, reading about the experiences that you asked for, please can you tell us 1) what is the point of your question; 2) why do you think a woman wouldn’t breastfeed past one year?

I’m wondering if you were hoping to provoke an argument

WHO recommend it until at least 2 years old.

Breastfed babies are less likely to be overweight, are slightly more intelligent than FF babies, are less likely to get ill, and are less likely to develop asthma or eczema.

Breastfeeding also makes the mother less likely to get breast cancer.

At 13 months my Dd was hospitalised with chickenpox and secondary staph and strep infections. She refused water and food. It was really difficult to find a vein. Even the consultants were having problems (and this was when she was too ill to resist). But the one thing she would do was feed from me because of comfort. The junior doctors were a bit horrified I think because she was over one (?) (by this stage I didn’t care who saw me feeding) but an old consultant came in on his rounds with loads of students round him and said, ‘this ladies and gentlemen, is the best thing this mother can do for her child’. I cried and the situation felt less hopeless.

WHO and UNICEF recommend:

early initiation of breastfeeding within 1 hour of birth;
exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life; and
introduction of nutritionally-adequate and safe complementary (solid) foods at 6 months together with continued breastfeeding up to 2 years of age or beyond.

I accept the WHO advice that it is optimal health-wise (for all the reasons covered by others in this thread) to do so for at least 2 years. I was able and happy to bf so I did - on the whole I believe that fed is best but this was my preference given the evidence.

Mine had just turned 1 when we went into lockdown so I felt particularly motivated to continue then in terms of giving her immune system the best possible support.

She usually bf morning, night and sometime around midday at that age, and as she approached 2 cut down to morning and night, and then just mornings. She wasn't much of a boob monster and could probably have stopped earlier, but I really wanted it to be a part of her day and her diet for as long as possible. Eventually stopped BF around the time she turned 2 as I was pregnant again and couldn't tolerate prolonged physical touch like that, plus she wasn't bothered. It was very easy and natural for us to stop so I reckon that was the right time even though in theory I'd have been happy to go for longer.

I fed all my DC until two, more or less. We all really really enjoyed it; I second all the benefits mentioned above.

Crucially, it costs nothing and requires no equipment. It’s an absolute no-brained.

I didn't actually need a reason to continue, rather I would have needed a reason to stop. Breastmilk doesn't cease to be nutritious on a baby's first birthday and for most 1 year olds it will still be the optimal milk. Full fat cows milk may well be an adequate substitute from 12 months, but it is certainly not superior so, unless you're having problems of course, it's surely more more logical to continue to breastfeed.
I would say the more pertinent question is why do women who have successfully breastfed to 12 months stop, rather than why do they continue. I imagine societal pressure is the most common reason.