BFing after 1 yr - no longer nutritional??

PAP179 · January 2010

I still love BF-ing my son and he is nowhere near weaning - but I really did not know that it is no longer nutritionally worth it (per a couple of posts on the 12-24 mos board). He has issues with eating & possibly due to reflux and I always just thought my nursing rounded out his nutritional intake and possibly provided some further immunity. Was I wrong??

shainababygirl · January 2010

This is so false it's not funny. Why would the WHO recommend something if it were no longer nutritional?

I don't have any articles myself, but I'm hoping other Momma's who do can respond with research!

PAP179 · January 2010

Recently I've seen something about the WHO's recommendation mostly for those countries where there are not good nutrtional substitutions (water supply, food sources)...I am totally confused by all of this.. Does your BM really change and it no longer carries antibodies? Or is a toddler's system just needing way more than BM can provide?

Dobie_Mama · January 2010

No, you're not wrong. I have a friend who's DD had some solid eating issues. Her daughter didn't eat much food food at all until she was 2. She continued to BF her and her daughter was consistently at the top of the charts. Obviously the BM was doing it's job.

lissah23 · January 2010

It's not that it's no longer nutritional, it's just that by that point they are probably getting their nutritional needs met in other ways (solids). Your breastmilk will change after about 6 months, but it's still most definately full of nutrients and antibodies.

sunnyday016 · January 2010

Here you go!

A whole page o' facts.

MrsAmers · January 2010

You're not wrong. I don't have any research to back me up, but there is probably an article or two on kellymom to help.

There is no doubt in my mind that breastmilk continues to have nutritional and immunilogical (is that the right word?) value for as long as one breast feeds. It doesn't make logical sense that after one year a mother's milk would just *stop* having nutritional value. Cow's milk doesn't come only from cows that have calves under 1 year old, so obviously their milk maintains its nutritional value...so why wouldn't our milk do so, too?

I do think I read that the fat content gets lower over time. Breastmilk that our body makes for newborns is a lot fattier than the breastmilk made for a toddler, but that doesn't mean that toddler milk doesn't have antibodies or nutritional value.

I nursed my daughter until she self-weaned at 22 months. I considered it to be her daily dose of good nutrition and it gave me a lot of comfort on those days that she only ate 3 bites of applesauce and 4 bites of chicken for dinner. :-)

sunnyday016 · January 2010

The page I linked was Kellymom, FYI.

cobaltblue · January 2010

MrsAmers:

You're not wrong. I don't have any research to back me up, but there is probably an article or two on kellymom to help.

There is no doubt in my mind that breastmilk continues to have nutritional and immunilogical (is that the right word?) value for as long as one breast feeds. It doesn't make logical sense that after one year a mother's milk would just *stop* having nutritional value. Cow's milk doesn't come only from cows that have calves under 1 year old, so obviously their milk maintains its nutritional value...so why wouldn't our milk do so, too?

I do think I read that the fat content gets lower over time. Breastmilk that our body makes for newborns is a lot fattier than the breastmilk made for a toddler, but that doesn't mean that toddler milk doesn't have antibodies or nutritional value.

I nursed my daughter until she self-weaned at 22 months. I considered it to be her daily dose of good nutrition and it gave me a lot of comfort on those days that she only ate 3 bites of applesauce and 4 bites of chicken for dinner. :-)

This gives "comfort nursing" a whole new meaning! Wink

EcoBaby · January 2010

"No longer nutritionally worth it" That is a debatable sentence for sure. I'm sure for some moms, maybe its not worth it.

Given that we are still supposed to give milk to our kids during the second year, I personally feel like human bm is superior to cow's milk because my body is making exactly what my kid needs. I don't know how the actual nutrients break down between the two of these, and they might be identical, but to say its not nutritious is definitely not true. To say its not worth it is a personal decision.

From the kellymom link posted above:

In the second year (12-23 months), 448 mL of breastmilk provides:

29% of energy requirements
43% of protein requirements
36% of calcium requirements
75% of vitamin A requirements
76% of folate requirements
94% of vitamin B₁₂ requirements
60% of vitamin C requirements

-- Dewey 2001

ncbelle · January 2010

Just agreeing with everyone else - you are not wrong! It isn't as much of their intake of course, but it still matters!

TabithaGoins · January 2010

My son has some G.I. issues (delayed gastric emptying..and possibly a mild case of hirschprungs) When I just saw our pediatric GI, he commented that it would be a really good thing to continue breastfeeding..which I was planning to anyways. LO is nowhere near ready to wean. The GI said that nutrionally it was going to keep making a difference.

makclair · January 2010

Breastfeeding without having to pump is great! Best of both worlds- I nurse DS at home and then he drinks regular cow's milk at daycare!

I don't buy the argument it is not as nutritional- What BS. I went back and found the OP from the other board and it sounds like some bad advice. Of course if you are ready to stop, it is fine, but saying that your todder is getting nothing from breastmilk is just rediculous.

I actually decided to keep nursing into the 2nd year b/c DS was a December baby and I wanted to keep giving him antibodies as long as possible.

e_b_r · January 2010

on the antibody side of things, here's what i remember from research for a long ago college paper:

there are documented immunological benefits up to 2yrs. the benefits may continue past the 2yr mark, but the research pools didn't include children beyond that age.

go BM!

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