Uninformed Dr. Article

[JessasMilkMama]

http://www.theherald.co.uk/features/46748.html


Dilemmas

DR RICHARD WOOLFSON September 12 2005


A friend is still breastfeeding her baby, even though her daughter is now two years old. I try to be relaxed about it, but I can't help thinking it's starting to get a little unhealthy. I have toyed with the idea of raising the subject but always decided against it. Am I just being prudish or uptight, or should someone say to my friend that she really should have stopped breastfeeding by now?

This is followed by readers advice, both for and against BF

Then the Drs response:
Dr Woolfson's Reply
There is no doubt that breastfeeding has health advantages for a baby compared with bottle-feeding. However, these benefits appear to diminish in importance after the first year or so. Many mothers also comment that they feel breastfeeding makes them feel closer to their baby emotionally (although there is no research evidence to support this claim). After the age of two, therefore, reasons for continuing with breastfeeding are typically linked to the child's emotional wellbeing rather than physical wellbeing.
While TW shares your view that breastfeeding should probably stop at the toddler stage, most others, such as AMcC and IB, think breastfeeding should continue as long as parent and child find it satisfying. If you search the internet, you will find accounts of parents breastfeeding their child up to the age of 12 – although I have to say that does conjure up a very odd image in my mind.
On balance, I advise you to be a little more accepting of your friend's practice. She is still within what most people regard as acceptable age limits for breastfeeding, even though she is pushing towards the boundary. You may be uncomfortable with the sight of a feeding session – and I am sure many people share those feelings with you – but I do not think you can claim the habit is psychologically unhealthy. If this continues for much longer, however, that would be a different matter. And should you mention your discomfort to your friend? Definitely not. None of our readers thinks it is your right to pass judgment about someone else's parenting (even those who are uncomfortable with your friend's behaviour) and I agree with them. Better to be supportive than confrontational – the breastfeeding issue is, after all, simply a matter of personal preference.

Contact Dr Woolfson by writing to Dilemmas, The Herald Features Desk, 200 Renfield Street, Glasgow G2 3QB, or by e-mailing him at [e-mail]
He cannot reply to readers' correspondence personally

[eckmannl]

Originally Posted by JessasMilkMama

http://www.theherald.co.uk/features/46748.html


– the breastfeeding issue is, after all, simply a matter of personal preference.

Contact Dr Woolfson by writing to Dilemmas, The Herald Features Desk, 200 Renfield Street, Glasgow G2 3QB, or by e-mailing him at [e-mail]
He cannot reply to readers' correspondence personally

:Puke

[velcromom]

Here's some interesting reading for the good dr:


"One study that dealt specifically with babies nursed longer than a year showed a significant link between the duration of nursing and mothers' and teachers' ratings of social adjustment in six- to eight-year-old children (Ferguson et al, 1987). In the words of the researchers, 'There are statistically significant tendencies for conduct disorder scores to decline with increasing duration of breastfeeding.'"
Sally Kneidel in "Nursing Beyond One Year" (New Beginnings, Vol. 6 No. 4, July-August 1990, pp. 99-103.):

And I can't open it right now but under the Parent-Child relationships section of this document, there is a quote from a study that shows improved mother/child connection during the teen years the longer a child is nursed.

www.lalecheleague.org/cbi/Biospec.htm