This is an interesting topic - and Karleen hits the nail on the head. IF the biological norm for breastfed humans is breastfeeding for 4-7 years, it stands to reason that human milk has a purpose after the first 6 months of life, no matter what country or setting a person lives in. I suspect most of this is protective. IF we consider human development from the point of view of NINO - Nine Months In, Nine Months Out - the second half of the first year is also very delicate. And IF we consider the fact that the second half of the first year of life exposes our North Amer. children to a wide range of bacterias and viruses and all kinds of contaminants as they begin to explore their environment and put EVERYTHING in their mouths, it stands to reason (whether there are research articles to quote or not), that the biological norm has a critical protective benefit.

I was just at a conference with Kathy Kendall-Tackett - she spoke of metabolic syndrome and the link to breastfeeding. The protective benefits for mother - if I got this right - are seen when a mother breastfeeds for at least 12 mo. per offspring. So I, being me, think - wow! if this is the effect for the mother with 12 consecutive months of breastfeeding - What does this show for the infant when that 12 months is their entire life? More research will be done I am sure - but I believe this info can be found on uppitysciencechick.com

re: does human milk have a necessary role in infant protection and development after 6 mo? According to Janice Joneja, PHD, RDN and this article: http://www.allergynutrition.com/pages/p42/journal_babies_children.php   YES it does - the human gut is a fragile entity and according to research which she draws from - the infant/child's gut is permeable to the age of 3 - which jives with the biological norm. It stands to reason that nature would provide for the infant to mature enough to protect his own gut by the age of weaning from human milk. 

Are some of these benefits still seen with pasteurized donor milk? I would suspect they are because of the nature and size of human milk proteins as compared to formula proteins. There was a photo of this on kellymom.com a while back.. that alone would compel me to look for and support the use of donor milk.

This is a table of immune factors and the influence of heat, storage and freezing on them.. great source of info directly relating to this discussion.

http://www.latrobe.edu.au/microbiology/table7.html

Every parent has a right to this information when making a choice about donor milk vs formula. 

When commenting on the unique aspects of human milk and the act of breastfeeding, I believe deeply that the thoughts and attitude of a woman producing a flood of oxytocin and other factors we know little about has an impact on the recipient of this milk. A product which is the result of animals kept housed and shackled, never seeing the light of day,  for the express purpose of using their milk in an industrially setting cannot, IMHO compare in "aliveness" to the milk of a mother who is feeding her baby at breast and pumping to give to others. So, yes, there is more to breastfeeding than breastmilk - there is attention and the power of giving. And this is "powerful medicine".

Celina D, IBCLC, LLLL 

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