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Originally Posted by nataliekat  How do we KNOW this though? Where is the data? That's the point that's being made.
It seems like it is a number we have chosen to believe is the truth, without its ever having been substantiated.
Dettwyler herself says that a review of 64 traditional studies before the 1940's put the median duration of breastfeeding at about 2.8 years. That sounds about right to me, considering my own experiences with extended BF and all the mamas I know personally and have heard about who do extended BF.
Regarding the 20/20 piece quoting the 4 years of age number, I'm sure they probably did their research on the web where they picked that number up from a lactavist website.
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Didn't see the segment, but as someone who has seen many poor countries, though not necessarily isolated peoples, I have met very few people who have nursed four year olds.
This is because it's very, very common around the world, and has been for hundreds of years as far as I know from what these people told me, to wean a child when you are pregnant.
So you may meet people who have no problem with nursing four and five year olds, but who do not get to do it often because they are pregnant. Like my MIL.
Whether or not it is biologically normal to wean a child when you are pregnant, your breasts are dry and in serious pain, and your child has teeth, you are suffering from mild fatigue and nausea, and your two-year-old can eat yoghurt and bread if you don't nurse her, is up for debate. I would have to see some really serious medical research that tells me how cats, dolphins, chimpanzees, and humans all normally nurse through that under ideal conditions.
