A few weeks ago we explained the recommendation of exclusive breastfeeding up to six months. From that moment and until the year, milk should continue to be the main food, supplemented by other nutrients.
From 12 months, breast milk continues to be an incomparable food in the diet of children and that is why the recommendation of the WHO and the majority of associations and organizations related to health is to continue breastfeeding up to two years or more or until the mother and child want it.
There is little scientific information regarding breastfeeding between the ages of 12 and 24 months and beyond, as few children reach those ages by being breastfed, however the available information indicates that even after two years of age it is Breast milk continues to be an excellent source of calories and nutrients.
The period between birth and two years of age is vital to a person’s development, growth, and health. Below we will explain why it is not recommended to suppress breast milk during this critical period.
Breast milk is still the best food
Breast milk has a relatively high fat content compared to most complementary foods. It is a key source of energy and essential fatty acids, which have a direct relationship with the brain development of children and it remains the most complete food from a nutritional point of view.
Breast milk adapts to the age of the child who takes it. This means that as the child grows, the milk contributes more calories.
Provides psychological benefits and better cognitive development
Several studies have already described the many psychological benefits of breastfed children. Breastfeeding provides nourishment, comfort, tenderness, communication between mother and child, contact and transfer of oxytocin (the love hormone) from mother to child (and an increase in it in the mother).
Despite the many popular prejudices around breastfeeding older children (although perhaps it would be necessary to define what an older child is, since there are people who consider that the older child to breastfeed is a 4-month-old child and there are others for whom it is not until after 12-15 months), there is no evidence that associates breastfeeding with problems of emotional or social maladjustment.
Lawrence Gartner, chair of the AAP (American Pediatric Association) lactation task force, explained in the latest statement made in this regard, dating from 1997, that “the Academy has not set a limit (for breastfeeding). . There are children who are breastfed up to 4.5 or 6 years. This may be rare, but not harmful. “
Fergusson et al. Showed in 1999 that 15 to 18-year-old children who had been breastfed for longer had better levels of attachment to their fathers and considered their mothers less overprotective, but were more concerned with their care, when compared with youngsters who have been fed formula milk.
Angelsen N et al. Concluded in 2001 that longer breastfeeding time benefited infants’ cognitive development . For this study they compared children who had not reached 3 months of breastfeeding, those who stayed between 3 and 6 months and those who were breastfed for 6 months or more. The result was that those who were breastfed longer obtained better scores in the cognitive tests carried out at 13 months and at 5 years.
Continue to offer immune protection
The immune system of a child definitely matures between 2 and 6 years of age. Breast milk is an incomparable source of defenses (in fact the concentration of immune cells in milk increases in the second year) so that the breastfed child will continue to benefit from the maternal defense contribution while his own system has just matured.
This becomes evident in illness when the appetite of children for other foods decreases but the intake of breast milk is maintained. In gastrointestinal pathologies above all, it is the best resource for nutrition and hydration, improving the recovery of children.
It has also been found that when a child is vaccinated, breastfeeding increases the immune response, further stimulating the infant’s immune system.
Breastfeeding up to at least two years, and this is one of the most important reasons for this recommendation, protects against type 1 diabetes .
Numerous studies suggest the relationship between type 1 diabetes and the introduction before the first year of life of products containing intact cow’s milk proteins (non-adapted milk derivatives).
It is a protective factor against childhood obesity
Breastfed children are generally thinner and it has been observed that it appears to be a protective factor against obesity.
The longer the duration of breastfeeding, the lower the risk of obesity and overweight. A prevalence of obesity at 5-6 years of age of 4.5% in non-breastfed children, 3.8% in those breastfed for 2 months, 2.3% from 3 to 5 months, 1 7% in those breastfed between 6 and 12 months and 0.8% in those with lactations greater than one year of age.
The longer you breastfeed, the greater the benefits for the mother
We have already discussed in Babies and more about the many benefits of breastfeeding for the mother. The longer a woman breastfeeds, the greater the benefits.
Breastfeeding on demand delays menstruation in many women. Iron requirements in the maternal diet are cut in half. This also causes the time of fertility to be delayed.
Decreases the risk of osteoporotic fractures in old age. The cause is unknown but it has been shown in studies with elderly people that those women who breastfed longer currently suffer fewer fractures.
Reduces the risk of breast and ovarian cancer. For every 12 months of increase in the average duration of breastfeeding in developed country populations, more than 50,000 cases of cancer could be prevented . This equates to a 4.6% decrease in risk for a woman for every 12 months that she breastfeeds.
As you can see, the known benefits for both mother and baby are numerous. As anthropological studies show, the natural age of weaning is between two and seven years and there are more and more children who are breastfed to advanced ages (the 4.5 or 6 that the president of the AAP commented more than ten years ago) .
How long to breastfeed a child? Despite all that has been explained, the answer is clear: as long as the mother and the child want.
More information | WHO, AAP, IBFAN,
In Babies and more | Breastfeeding Manual, The Virgin Mary gave the Child Jesus a prolonged lactation, Breastfeeding only brings benefits
