Erika I haven't dealt with similar problems (mother of breastfed 2 yr old
being diagnosed with osteoporosis and told to wean), however I did attend a
conference last year at which Anne Prentice, a researcher in this area,
presented her work.  Below is a summary, which I had written previously, of
what she said and has published.  Her studies were done on a group of
well-nourished women in Cambridge, UK AND a group of women who receive
marginal nourishment in the Gambia.

"Breastfeeding is associated with a substantial decrease in the bone
mineral content of the mother's skeleton during the first 3-6 months of
lactation. These changes are reversed later in lactation and after weaning.
The changes are greatest in the axial skeleton, typically 3-5% at the spine
and hip. After breastfeeding stops, the bone mineral content at most
skeletal sites increases to an amount similar to or higher than that
measured shortly after delivery. Recovery of bone mineral can occur during
the subsequent pregnancy for women who conceive while they are
breastfeeding. The decrease in bone mineral content after delivery does not
occur to women who do not breastfeed.

By the time breastfeeding has ceased for 3-6 months no differences remain
between women who have not breastfed, those who have breastfed for a short
time or those who have breastfed for many months. That's good news. But
will calcium supplements during lactation affect this process? In the
Cambridge women who typically have a high calcium intake there was no
correlation between their intake and bone mineral loss. In the Gambian
study (randomised, double-blind control of supplementation vs placebo) an
increase in calcium intake did not alter the magnitude of
lactation-associated skeletal changes even in women with a very low calcium
intake. I think those studies give us convincing evidence that there is no
point whatsoever in recommending calcium supplementation or increasing
calcium-rich foods during lactation in the hope that it will influence bone
mineralisation."

That your mother has now been lactating for two years indicates to me that
she is well past the time when she is losing calcium and has either
regained as much as she will, or is still regaining it.  Weaning her infant
will not hasten this process at this time.
Giving her infant milk (other than breastmilk) is also not necessary for
the infant's bone mineralisation.  Breastmilk levels of calcium decrease
over time and the infant may not be drinking significant volumes of
breastmilk either at this age.  Therefore the weaning foods the child is
eating should supply him with his required intake of calcium.  Afterall,
something like 2/3 of the worlds population become lactose-intolerant after
weaning from their mother and therefore don't drink dairy products to
obtain their calcium requirements.

Here's a url for the abstract of one of her papers, though she has
published quite a bit.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10511368&dopt=Abstract

Hope this helps
Denise


*************************************************
Denise Fisher MMP, BN, IBCLC
BreastEd Online Lactation Studies
http://www.health-e-learning.com

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