Here are some quotes and some links that you can print info from to give to her.
http://www.kathydettwyler.org/dettwyler.html
great site of an anthropologist who studies breastfeeding, good article there about the natural age of weaning.
http://www.lalecheleague.org/lllead...FebMar98p3.html
"The adverse health effects of weaning a child before or during toddlerhood are well documented for Third World countries such as Guinea-Bissau, where children who were no longer breastfed at ages 12 to 35 months had a 3.5 times higher mortality than did their peers who continued to breastfeed. There is a lack of this type of comparative research between breastfeeding toddlers and preschoolers and their already weaned peers in economically advanced countries. The negative impact of early weaning on children's health is not as dramatically evident but in time it may prove to be significant.
The scientific evidence on extended breastfeeding is just now beginning to accumulate. A number of the health benefits are now being found to be related to the length of nursing with an increasing amount of benefit correlating with increased duration. This is the case, research has indicated, with breastfeeding's protective effect in maternal breast cancer, osteoporosis, childhood ear infections and malocclusion anomalies (misaligned teeth).
The word "benefit" is perhaps misleading here, for these "benefits" are what nature intended to be the human norm. Breastfeeding is normal. It is artificial feeding substitutes and premature weaning that are, in fact, abnormal from a biological viewpoint. It is these abnormal practices that place the child at increased risk of illness and compromised intelligence. "
American Academy of Pediatrics:
"It is recommended that breastfeeding continue for at least 12 months, and thereafter for as long as mutually desired."
http://aappolicy.aappublications.org...ics;100/6/1035
World Health Organization:
" Breastfeeding is an unequalled way of providing ideal food for the healthy growth and development of infants; it is also an integral part of the reproductive process with important implications for the health of mothers. A recent review of evidence has shown that, on a population basis, exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months is the optimal way of feeding infants. Thereafter infants should receive complementary foods with continued breastfeeding up to 2 years of age or beyond."
http://www.who.int/child-adolescent-..._exclusive.htm
American Academy of Family Physicians:
"Breastfeeding should ideally continue beyond infancy, but this is currently not the cultural norm and requires ongoing support and encouragement.85 Breastfeeding during a subsequent pregnancy is not unusual. If the pregnancy is normal and the mother is healthy, breastfeeding during pregnancy is the woman's personal decision. If the child is younger than two years of age, the child is at increased risk of illness if weaned. Breastfeeding the nursing child after delivery of the next child (tandem nursing) may help to provide a smooth transition psychologically for the older child."
http://www.aafp.org/x6633.xml
American Dietetic Association:
"Exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months and breastfeeding with complementary foods for at least 12 months is the ideal feeding pattern for infants. Increases in initiation and duration are needed to realize the health, nutritional, immunological, psychological, economical, and environmental benefits of breastfeeding."
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m.../article.jhtml
References:
http://www.who.int/child-adolescent...t_exclusive.htmhttp://www.aafp.org/x6633.xmlhttp://www.breastfeedingonline.com/29.htmlhttp://www.prairienet.org/laleche/detwean.htmlhttp://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Spa/3156/care.htm
quote:
The advantages of sustained
breastfeeding for care
Breastfeeding for three years or longer is not as uncommon as most researchers assume. Among La Leche League members in the USA even during the 1970s when breastfeeding rates were at their lowest level, it was practiced but kept it secret, "in the closet" [8]. Even in developing countries little attention is given to breastfeeding that takes place for several years. Some researchers seem unconsciously to adhere to "norms" that lead them to expect that little if any breastfeeding is taking place after a certain age (often two-three years). I have observed in both Ghana and Lesotho, children in school uniforms breastfeeding. These children, usually standing or kneeling beside mothers who were sitting, took the breast themselves from compliant mothers who otherwise went on with their business. Neither the mothers nor bystanders paid attention to these children's breastfeeding behavior.
-Ted Greiner
"In some cultures it is considered a child's birthright to be nursed until the age of two. It is believed all your sins are forgiven when you nurse your baby, and an angel stands behind you and pats you on the back when are done. I like to think of an angel standing behind me every time I nurse. It is a very comforting thought when things aren't going well. If you can't get support from your family, at least the angels are behind you."
Help! Every time we go over to my folks house and my 2 month old dd wants to nurse my mother makes comments. She tells my dd that she's too old to nurse and sais "yucky" as she squinches up her face. I ask her not to make comments like this and she tells me..."she's too old to still be nursing...when are you going to stop?" I tell her I'm letting dd decide when she's ready. Then she sais "you gave her a good start...she's too old.." It's the same conversation every time and every time I tell her to please not make comments...but she still does! So I try to stay away as much as possible but then there will be something that I'm needed for and it starts all over again! And for the record...my mother did not BF either my brother or myself. When dd #1 was a baby I lived with my parents for 9 months...I really wanted to nurse her and my mother made me feel like I was doing something disgusting and sinful. I was told I could only nurse upstairs in my bedroom and I was never to nurse in front of my dad or my brother. One time we went shopping at the mall and dd needed to nurse. I had a receiving blanket to be discreet yet she still got angry with me and told me to go nurse in the bathroom. I was so angry I asked her "do you eat your lunch in the bathroom? I will not feed my baby in a dirty filthy restroom." And I didn't...but I gave up nursing when she was just a few months old becasue I felt unsupported and discouraged...now 16 years later I know that I am doing a good thing for my child...I am sticking with nursing whether my mother approves or not. So how do I get her off my back? I've told her that she needs to be respectful of my choices or I won't come around and I've even exercized this point many times...but nothing seems to work...any suggestions from other bf mamas? 
: Next time I would whip it right out in front of her and let dd nurse away. That is not rude.....her comments are!
She thinks cloth diapering is crazy too...but I'm sticking with it! Now I even sew them myself...I'm just doing what my heart tells me to this time around...Thanks all of you for your support. 
I guess that was pretty typical for birthing mothers cesarean or not in this area anyway...My daughter asked me the other day if I thought my mother and I had ever bonded after my birth...I was shocked by her question but it's made me think alot about my birth and life shortly there after...I was incubated...not sure how long...so I think there was no holding...and within a very short time she had to go back to work nights because my biological father had no job...they seperated when I was 6 weeks old so it must have been very difficult for my mom...plus she lost a baby at 7 months pregnant before me and that's got to be painful...so maybe we never really bonded...feels that way...I mean she loves me and all...but she doesn't know how to mother me...hmmmm...I feel very sad...this conversation helps me feel a little more compassionate...thanks... 
hey...baby steps right?!
Her problem, not mine. 
