>"C. Martin" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Duration of Breastfeeding

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?"

Neither the "two years or beyond" you mentioned (which is the World Health
Organization recommendation) or the "six to twelve months" (which is the
current American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation, and which is NOT a
maximum even to them) speak to the issue of MAXIMUM benefits.

My research suggests 2.5 years as the absolute minimum that the child's
physiology is expecting, with 4-5-6-7 years probably being more what the
child has evolved/been designed to expect.  To get the MAXIMUM benefits, you
have to breastfeed until their isn't any more breast milk.  Even then we get
into the murky topic of benefits from suckling/physical contact with the
mother even in the absence of milk (I do think there are MANY benefits of
continuing to nurse even after lactation has stopped, but that's another
question entirely).

You can read about my research on my web page at:
http://www.prairienet.org/community/health/laleche/dettwyler.html

Or in my book, about which information is available on the web page as well.

I will post another message in a minute with some more specific information.



Katherine A. Dettwyler, Ph.D.
Texas A&M University