Life got in the way, so I had to wade a pile-up of Lactnet posts before
taking my whack at what by now may be a fairly dead horse.

Elisheva sensitively points out that a term like "sustained" for
longer-than-the-cultural-norm breastfeeding risks offending women who
nurse for shorter periods -- implying that they somehow failed to
"sustain" the child or the breastfeeding relationship.  And in the U.S.,
where only 20-some percent of 6-month-olds are getting any breastmilk,
that's a real concern.   It's a very delicate issue -- trying to help a
mother feel good about breastfeeding for *whatever* length of time.
There's nothing to be gained from suggesting that if you're not going to
breastfeed for the long haul, don't bother.  Forced to choose, I'd
rather see lots more babies get a good year of breastfeeding, than a
tiny percentage nurse into childhood.

But we shouldn't underestimate what most people consider "extended" in
U.S. culture.  It's hard to picture someone who breastfed for 12 months,
or even 9 months feeling that offended by the term "sustained," because
in her mind, she probably feels, "Well, that's me!"

Like many new mothers, I was freaked out when I first saw a
walking-and-nursing child -- at least 18 months old! (I have some lovely
(extremely discreet) nursing photos my husband took of my 5-month-old,
since "we won't be nursing much longer" -- ho, ho, ho.)  Why do some
mothers change their minds so completely on this issue, while others can
stick to their original plan?

There was also a thought-provoking thread recently about how even when
one is "radical" enough to nurse a toddler, the mind-set is often that
weaning is "underway," and encouraged.  Looking back, I can see that,
and indeed my children weaned well short of the "advanced" ages I'm
seeing discussed lately.  But I still view it as a happy, sustained
experience.

No answers, but it does seem that we should present this unfamiliar
practice as at least a positive option.  I tried my thesaurus for a nice
neutral term and came up with "chronic" breastfeeding and "persistent"
breastfeeding, which don't seem quite right!

Margaret
LLLL

Regarding the list of breastfed celebrities -- let's get out there and
encourage our children to get famous...

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