Breastfeed a Toddler or older child?
Breastfeeding mothers are often criticized for breastfeeding "too long". They are told to "encourage him/her to stop, s/he is too old". The attached photo is a publication from Health Canada. The child here is at least 3 years old, I would guess. The title of the poster is "Breastfeeding is not only for Newborns".
Children do not need encouragement to stop breastfeeding. Much less to be forced to stop which may cause tears in child, mother and the rest of the family. Doing so implies that there is something wrong with their continued breastfeeding. There is not. Here one mother's experience as written by her in an email to me:
"I wanted to write and say I have living proof that everything you say about breastfeeding is absolutely true! My son is nearly 5 1/2 years old now and still breastfeeds (from one breast.) I still produce milk, even though I am 49 years old. Isn't the human body incredible? He calls it "mommy milk" or "snuggle milk". He has even verbalized to me, in his own words, that when he is hurt or scared, mommy milk helps him feel better. Typically he has a bit in the morning when he wakes up and definitely before bed at night.
Do I share this with many people? No, unfortunately, no, but this is a decision for my son and me. He enjoys it, I am fine with it, so it works for us. One day he will decide to stop of course, but I would prefer it to be his decision.
My son is confident and independent. He dresses himself, he washes his own hair in the bath (with supervision, of course), he's taking swimming lessons and asked the instructor (voluntarily) to teach him to dive as well. In his senior kindergarten class, he has been encouraged by his teacher to be a leader and role model for his classmates.
领英推è
You and your clinic do AMAZING work and we are so fortunate to have support for breastfeeding in Canada. So thank YOU!"
Please consider buying and recommending my new book, What Doctors Don’t Know about Breastfeeding.
Print version and ebook version on Amazon:?https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09WC2HCC6
Print version on Praeclarus site:?https://stores.praeclaruspress.com/what-doctors-dont-know-about-breastfeeding-by-jack-newman-and-andrea-polokova/?showHidden=true
PROFESSEUR/ FORMATRICE ANGLAIS / ESPAGNOL / FRANCAIS LANGUE ETRANGERE
2 å¹´Thanks for all your support ????
IBCLC, Health Writer, and International Public Speaker
2 å¹´Having worked in the field of lactation support for more than 20 years, I'll add this: though setting very long-term goals (like years) for how long you plan to breastfeed works very well for some, it's also very common for people to set their goals in months and ultimately find themselves breastfeeding for years!
Afropreuneuse épanouie, fondatrice de AfroMaternity et Sama Mentor
2 年I breastfed my daughter until she was 3,5yrs and only stopped when I got pregnant but had to take uncompatible médication due to hyperemesis gravidarum. I was indeed seen as an extraterrestrial! Now I moved to Africa, and baby #2 is a boy, I know I'm gonna face nasty comments regarding his gender and our "long" BF journey ????♀?????♀?????♀?