arguments for nursing beyond a year?

[freckledgirl]

please arm me with some arguments for why i should continue nursing my one year old!  i would especially love to hear medical arguments and which organizations recommend extended nursing.  i know the WHO recommends nursing at least until two (anyone know why?) and the american academy of family physicians says we put our kids at increased risk of illness if we wean before two.  i have no intention of weaning my son anytime soon, but i do want to know some facts i can use if people comment on how they think it's somehow wrong that he's still nursing.  i'm sure there must be health benefits for me too, so please tell me if you know of some!

thank you!!

[PatioGardener]

normal jaw and teeth development - perhaps even avoiding sleep apnea later in life.  (Dr. Brian Palmer, DDS, has more info)

nak

[neverdoingitagain]

Originally Posted by freckledgirl 

please arm me with some arguments for why i should continue nursing my one year old!  i would especially love to hear medical arguments and which organizations recommend extended nursing.  i know the WHO recommends nursing at least until two (anyone know why?) and the american academy of family physicians says we put our kids at increased risk of illness if we wean before two.  i have no intention of weaning my son anytime soon, but i do want to know some facts i can use if people comment on how they think it's somehow wrong that he's still nursing.  i'm sure there must be health benefits for me too, so please tell me if you know of some!

thank you!!

Well, this one is kind of old and mostly involves breastfeeding in infancy but still has a bunch of great reasons.

http://www.notmilk.com/101.html

and

http://boobiefed.com/benefits-of-extended-breastfeeding/

[kiwiva]

Kellymom has a list of reasons http://www.kellymom.com/bf/bfextended/ebf-benefits.html

It includes benefits to the child and to the mom.