According to the post, this mother says she no longer is taking birth control
and planning to get pregnant.  Her milk supply has dropped.  I would suggest
that this mother take a pregnancy test because it seems highly likely that
she is pregnant.

Second, I have nursed all my babies past 3 years of age and one past 5 years.
 I believe milk production mostly an irrelevant issue, when we are talking
about this age bracket.  The issue is emotional needs and not nutrition.
Although in areas where food is difficult to obtain, we might be talking
about nutrient needs.  If this mother is pregnant, not much can be done to
improve production.

Having nursed older ones, I often thought there was absolutely nothing there
and it sure felt like it.  I also nursed while I was pregnant and there
wasn't much there.  Yet my little ones continued to seek the breast for the
comfort it provided.  I never worried about production and it just was never
an issue because these little ones had other sources of nutrition besides
breast milk.  So as long as this mom's child has a source of nutrition
besides breastmilk, I would reassure the mom that production shouldn't be a
major concern.

Certainly, we should be concerned about this mother's use of alchol and
smoking.  Interesting that she is willing to quit these addictions when
pregnant but not willing to quit for her own health's sake.  We also know
that this mom is depressed.

Should we encourage weaning or not?  I'd rather look at it as a time to
educate this mother that over 2 drinks of alchol per day for a woman
increases her risk of all cancers.  And smoking of course increases her risk
of lung cancer.  Will she be around to bring up those beautiful children?
She has quit these things while being pregnant before, now is the time to
quit for good.  A referral to a quit smoking group would be a must.

Toxins?  Should we be concerned?  I don't think so.  How much milk is this
child even getting?  What is the recourse?  Weaning?  Breastfeeding when a
child is 3+ is not about nutrition.  It is about a relationship.
Breastfeeding is not just a way to feed a baby but the connecting fabric of a
relationship.  We shouldn't destroy those threads without absolute knowledge
that the situation is so dangerous that it threatens the life of the child.
I would say that more children are threatened by the toxic burden of the
water they drink, foods they eat, or the dirt they play in than nursing at 3+
years of age....Valerie W. McClain, IBCLC

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