I think this whole question of weaning is a delicate area. Certainly some
breastfeeding is better than no breastfeeding, and certainly a mother's
feelings of resentment and unhappiness with breastfeeding may make feeding
unpleasant for the baby and lead to the baby wanting to wean early.

But I think we should be asking ourselves why women want to wean earlier
than we know is biologically best for their children. I think it's often
because they are feeling pressure from other people. Most people today know
that breastfeeding is best, but they think six months is plenty. So the
mother nursing a seven-month-old is getting "Oh, is he STILL nursing" and
"Aren't you going to stop that soon?" and other comments. Pretty soon she
starts to feel uncomfortable about breastfeeding - after all, everyone else
seems to think it's weird and abnormal.

The other big issue that I often hear about is that women are worried that
their babies are "too dependent" or "too clingy" and they think that
breastfeeding is the reason. Sometimes these mothers do wean, and are
surprized to find that the baby continues to be clingy, dependent and
strongly attached to them. I think we need to help people understand that
babies are supposed to be dependent and attached!!!

Sometimes when mothers talk to me about weaning, I remind myself that she is
probably getting lots of support for weaning from everyone else she talks
to. I try to be the person who presents the "other side" by discussing with
her the reasons she wants to wean, the benefits of continuing to breastfeed,
and helping her to at least weigh one list against the other.

Teresa Pitman
Guelph, Ontario

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