hmmm.  I hear you, but could we not still say that there is a "normal range" of breastfeeding? .  It's the truth.  The science is there.  And we know that there are risks to both not breastfeeding at all and to early weaning (risks for both the mothers and babies).
And re the external factors, if we started talking openly about the normal range of breastfeeding, then maybe some of those negative factors would start going away for women (whether it is family negativity or lack of societal support)…
And calling it what it is, a normal range, makes us want to demand good help and support if it is not going well.  And, of course, mothers can choose to wean early, but they will be weaning early with a full understanding of what that means--there may be advantages due to the outside factors you mention, but, this way, mothers can weigh those factors against the risks of early weaning and make their own determinations of whether it makes sense to wean.

On May 13, 2012, at 5:22 PM, LACTNET automatic digest system wrote:

> 
> On 13/05/2012 12:37, Nikki Lee wrote:
>> Sarah Vaughan wrote:
>> 
>> "Not everyone who weans before the activist-approved age is a frustrated
>> would-be-long-term-breastfeeder
>> hoping for rescue from society's mores - many women either want to wean at
>> the stage they do, or simply, for various reasons find it the most
>> practical thing to do."
>> 
>> [...]
>> Practical does not mean chosen or desired.
>> 
> My point there was that, while pressure from society is certainly a 
> significant factor, there are many other unrelated factors that can lead 
> to a woman choosing to wean rather than nurse through/past toddlerhood.  
> In such cases using a term such as 'normal-term breastfeeding' is both 
> entirely unhelpful and potentially distressing.
> 
> 
> Best wishes,
> 
> Dr Sarah Vaughan
> MBChB MRCGP


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