Lactnetters,
        During a recent teaching session on breastfeeding, my client asked a
seemingly simply question... "How long must I breastfeed before my baby gets
the maximum benefits?"  A breastfeeding group in town recommended she
breastfeed for the first two years, family told her just until she went back
to work, and I was telling her something different than both of them.
        I did the research to find the most recommended time frame with
solid supporting research, but found many different recommendations.  For
example, Wu and Wang recommend "exclusive breastfeeding for the first four
to six months... and continued breastfeeding up to the second year" (1996,
p. 28) while breast milk is recommended as the optimal food for the first 6
to 12 months by another source (American Academy of Pediatrics, 1992).
        The majority of the resources examine duration of feeding in the
context of what influences the length a mother breastfeeds without stating
recommendations for how long they should continue.  One article discusses
IgA, IgM, IgG and other host defense factors and their levels in breast milk
during different periods of lactation (Orlando, 1995).   Although this
article addressed immunologic benefits within a time frame, it did not
address other benefits of breastfeeding.
        I would like to know what guidelines or time frames other
professionals are using when teaching their breastfeeding moms and where
those guidelines are coming from.  Also, if you have any references that
address this issue specifically, please pass them on.

        American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Nutrition (1992).
Follow-up of weaning formulas.  Pediatrics, 89, 1105.
        Orlando, S. (1995).  The immunologic significance of breast milk.
JOGNN, 24(7), 678-683.
        Wang, Y.S., & Wu, S.Y. (1996).  The effect of exclusive
breastfeeding on development and incidence of infection in infants.  The
Journal of Human Lactation, 12(1), 27-30.

C. Martin, Student Nurse
University of North Dakota