Lactnetters, During a recent teaching session on breastfeeding, my client asked a seemingly simply question... "How long must I breastfeed before my baby gets the maximum benefits?" A breastfeeding group in town recommended she breastfeed for the first two years, family told her just until she went back to work, and I was telling her something different than both of them. I did the research to find the most recommended time frame with solid supporting research, but found many different recommendations. For example, Wu and Wang recommend "exclusive breastfeeding for the first four to six months... and continued breastfeeding up to the second year" (1996, p. 28) while breast milk is recommended as the optimal food for the first 6 to 12 months by another source (American Academy of Pediatrics, 1992). The majority of the resources examine duration of feeding in the context of what influences the length a mother breastfeeds without stating recommendations for how long they should continue. One article discusses IgA, IgM, IgG and other host defense factors and their levels in breast milk during different periods of lactation (Orlando, 1995). Although this article addressed immunologic benefits within a time frame, it did not address other benefits of breastfeeding. I would like to know what guidelines or time frames other professionals are using when teaching their breastfeeding moms and where those guidelines are coming from. Also, if you have any references that address this issue specifically, please pass them on. American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Nutrition (1992). Follow-up of weaning formulas. Pediatrics, 89, 1105. Orlando, S. (1995). The immunologic significance of breast milk. JOGNN, 24(7), 678-683. Wang, Y.S., & Wu, S.Y. (1996). The effect of exclusive breastfeeding on development and incidence of infection in infants. The Journal of Human Lactation, 12(1), 27-30. C. Martin, Student Nurse University of North Dakota