On 9/20/07, LACTNET automatic digest system <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
>
> .  As a former breastfeeder of three children, I was always told=20
> to wean my children off the breast around the age of one because there wa=
> s no added benefit to breastfeeding past that age.  After much research,
> bo=
> y was I wrong!  In one article on the kellymom.com website it stated
> that=20=
> breast milk continues to provide substantial amounts of ket nutrients wel=
> l beyond the first year.



Hehehe, yeah, the nutrition stuff is all fine and dandy but for me, mom of
three long-term (3+ years each) breastfed sons, I found that breastfeeding
my toddlers/preschoolers was a huge part of how I mothered them...Extended
breastfeeding was integral to my mothering.  As I was struggling to
breastfeed my third son, who was born at 31 weeks, the driving force in me
to make breastfeeding *work* was I simply didn't know how I would mother him
through illness, sadness, owies, at night, etc. without breastfeeding.
Maybe I'm not very creative, but I wouldn't have weathered toddlerhood very
well, three times over, without "nah-nah"!

My thoughts would be to research the psychological/social benefits of
long-term breastfeeding as well as the nutritional and immunological
benefits.  Look for research by Kathy Dettwyler for starters.

Kathleen Salisbury, LLLL, IBCLC, RLC
Gig Harbor, WA State, USA

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