Breastfeeding has so many benefits for your little one, and when they turn 12 months old, these benefits don’t just disappear! So, should you continue breastfeeding your toddler with long term breastfeeding, or, extended breastfeeding? Let’s get into the extended breastfeeding benefits!
If you’d like to stop breastfeeding at 12 months, that’s perfectly fine, and I’m congratulating you on making it to the 12-month mark! It isn’t easy, and you have provided your baby with so many benefits that will last them a lifetime that they couldn’t have received elsewhere.
How Long Do the Experts Recommend Breastfeeding?
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusively breastfeeding your baby for the first 6 months after birth and to continue breastfeeding in combination with solid food until at least 12 months old. After 12 months, breastfeeding is recommended only as long as you and your child wish to continue [2].
The World Health Organization takes it a step further and recommends frequent and on-demand breastfeeding until at least 2 years of age or beyond [1].
Remember that how long you breastfeed your child is entirely up to you!
Breastfeeding can be challenging, especially if you’re a working mama or just really busy! So don’t feel bad if you don’t want to continue past 12 months or stop sometime before your toddler reaches 24 months old.
But if you’re considering or wanting to continue breastfeeding until 24 months old or beyond, the research is motivating!
How Breastfeeding Saves Lives
I’ve talked about the benefits of breastfeeding your baby here. Now let’s talk about how WHO states that breastfeeding could save many children under 5 years old and the benefits found in children who were breastfed as toddlers. (From the World Health Organization).
- Undernutrition is associated with 45% of child deaths [1].
- In 2019, 144 million children under 5 were estimated to be too short for their age. 47 million were estimated to be too thin for their height, and 38.3 million were overweight or obese [1].
- In many countries, less than ¼ of infants 6-23 months old meet the criteria of dietary diversity and feeding frequency appropriate for their age [1].
- Over 820,000 children’s lives could be saved every year among children under 5 years if all children 0-23 months were optimally breastfed [1].
- Dr Mitoulas points out: “The consequences of not breastfeeding between six and 23 months can be dire in low- and middle-income countries, where babies who aren’t breastfed are twice as likely to die from infection as babies who are breastfed, even partly.” [13]
Extended Breastfeeding: The Benefits of Breastfeeding Beyond 6 Months
Breastfeeding your baby beyond 6 months of age and when they are a toddler holds immense benefits. “Breastfeeding protects your baby from infection and illness, so much so that it’s even considered a form of ‘personalised medicine’, with potential lifelong effects,” says Dr Mitoulas.
Evidence has shown that extended breastfeeding:
- Fosters a shared mother-infant regulation of food intake which acknowledges the child’s role in regulating food intake [6]
- Results in less mealtime conflict
Additionally, breastfeeding your toddler has been shown to lower the chances of some childhood and adult illnesses. Plus, if your baby does get ill, your breastmilk helps him or her recover more quickly!
Breastfeeding for longer than 6 months has been shown to protect your baby against:
- Lymphocytic laukemia [7]
- Hodgin’s lymphoma [7]
- Type 2 diabetes [8] However, the protection against type 2 diabetes is diminished by factors such as smoking, preterm birth, and other factors.
- Eyesight problems [9]
- Obesity [10]
- Baby diarrhea and sickness [11]
- Gastroenteritis, colds, and flu, thrush and ear, throat, and lung infections [7,12]
Additional Benefits of Extended Breastfeeding Your Toddler
Additional benefits of breastfeeding your toddler include:
- Better digestion of fats [14]
- Regulation of appetite [15]
- Promotion of immune system development [16]
- Higher IQ in children [17]
- Fewer behavioral problems in school-age children [18]
- Improved mental health in children and adolescents [19]
The Benefits of Extended Breastfeeding for YOU!
By continuing breastfeeding beyond 6 months you lower your risk of developing:
- Heart disease [20]
- Type 2 diabetes [21]
- Breast cancer [22]
- Ovarian cancer [23]
- Uterine cancer [24]
How Nutrients in Your Breast Milk Change Beyond Infancy
Breastmilk is an essential source of energy and nutrients for children 6-23 months old. It also provides half or more of your child’s energy needs between 6 and 12 months of age. And from 12-24 months of age, breastmilk provides 1/3 of energy needs.
This excellent study showed after 1 year of breastfeeding, your milk significantly increases in fat and energy contents for your child. After 2 years of breastfeeding, your milk increases even more in fat and protein for your child, and the carbohydrate content remains about the same [5].
Plus, we also know breastmilk is also a crucial source of energy and nutrients during illness. Beyond infancy, your breastmilk still helps to fight infections, strengthen your child’s immune system, and adapt to giving them exactly what they need!
How to Balance Extended Breastfeeding and Solids
By age 1, your child is getting 2/3 of their energy needs met from solids [3].
Unlike a breasted baby 6-12 months old, I recommend avoiding breastfeeding immediately before or immediately after eating solids so that your toddler can learn to sit and eat a full meal. This will be easier for you, especially for taking your baby out to eat someday!
If you have a baby under 12 months old, check out The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Introducing Solids.
How Often Should You Breastfeed Your Toddler?
Now that your child is a toddler, they may be able to tell you when they’re hungry! And if they can’t say it, you’ll definitely know at this age by the way they’re acting and what they’re trying to say.
But it’s understandable if you don’t want your child asking for your boob in public and especially not pulling at your shirt in public, if at all!
I recommend teaching your toddler the sign language for “milk” to have your own silent code when they want milk.
Plus, sign language is super beneficial to help your little one learn words and the meanings of words! If you’re interested, check this out!: Should You Teach Your Baby Sign Language?
And if you’re in a situation where you don’t want to nurse, then make sure that you have healthy snacks for your child to munch on in the meantime!
What if You’re Criticized for Breastfeeding Your Toddler?
Give a short comeback if you receive criticism for nursing your toddler.
You can simply say your doctor recommends it. Or even say the World Health Organization says (with proven research) that it’s best to breastfeed until at least 24 months of age [1].
Furthermore, anthropologists believe the natural weaning age for humans may be up to 7 years old [4].
How to Wean Your Toddler from Breastfeeding?
Most toddlers will wean themselves eventually. But if you’re ready to end breastfeeding and our child is at least 2 years old, you can simply talk to your child.
You can gently let them know that nursing time will end soon. But be sure to reassure your toddler that mama is still going to be here to play, read, snuggle, and tickle all the time you can!
As I mentioned in, How to Night Wean Your Baby and When Can You Start? It’s incredibly beneficial to hold, snuggle, and comfort your child, especially during this kind of transition!
Some mamas may think that distancing themselves during the times of day they used to breastfeed will make it easier to avoid their child getting upset, but it’s actually the complete opposite. Your child needs your snuggles and reassurance even more now!
It can also help to make the end of nursing an occasion to celebrate for your little one!
Sources:
[1] WHO: Infant and young child feeding
[2] American Academy of Pediatrics: Infant Food and Feeding
[3] Breastmilk Macronutrient Components in Prolonged Lactation
[5] Breast Milk Macronutrient Components in Prolonged Lactation
[6] Restricting access to foods and children’s eating
[7] Does prolonged breastfeeding reduce the risk for childhood leukemia and lymphomas?
[8] Breastfeeding duration in infancy and adult risks of type 2 diabetes in a high‐income country
[9] Infant nutrition and stereoacuity at age 4-6 y
[11] Protective effect of breast feeding against infection
[12] Protective effect of exclusive breastfeeding against infections during infancy: a prospective study
[14] Bioactive proteins in breast milk
More references:
[16] The immunological components of human milk and their effect on immune development in infants
[17] Breastfeeding in the 21st century: epidemiology, mechanisms, and lifelong effect
[18] Breast feeding and child behaviour in the Millennium Cohort Study
DISCLAIMER: This post is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding you or your baby’s health. Please read my Medical Disclaimer for more info
Leave a Reply