After nursing for many months or even a year, you may feel a great sense of pride and accomplishment at all you've given your baby through breastfeeding, and rightly so! But now that your child isn't a little baby anymore, what next?

The American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends breastfeeding for at least one year and then for as long as is mutually desirable by mother and baby. The World Health Organization advises breastfeeding for at least two years. And in most parts of the world, nursing a child who is 4 years or older is not uncommon. Why, then, is nursing a child past 6 months to one year many times still questioned and even frowned upon? Are there actually benefits to nursing this long? Will allowing a child to nurse into toddlerhood cause him to be too dependent?

• Many of the health benefits that your milk provided to your child in infancy continue to be present for as long as you breastfeed. This is also true for the health benefits afforded to you through nursing. It is a myth that after a certain time period, the health benefits of breastfeeding end! They continue for as long as you breastfeed and are more significant the longer you breastfeed. See "Advantages of Breastfeeding" for a complete list of these benefits.

• Breastfeeding for at least one year has been associated with better oral development due to the unique sucking action required with nursing at the breast. There is also evidence that extended breastfeeding results in earlier reading in boys and fewer speech problems.

• Breastfeeding toddlers enjoy better health . The immunological benefits of human milk have been found to remain high throughout the first and second years. Toddlers who are nursed have fewer incidence and duration of illness and are less likely to require medical care than their non-breastfeeding peers.

• Human milk is readily digested and an accepted source of nourishment for a sick child. Even when other foods may not be tolerated , such as with a stomach virus, a nursing child can go back to complete breastfeeding if necessary, thus allowing him to continue to receive adequate fluids and nutrients. Many times a nursing child will refuse all other food and drink when ill but can still be persuaded to breastfeed.

• Human milk provides a natural "cushion" for the child with food allergies or who is slow to take well to solids until his system is mature and ready enough to accept other foods.

• The natural child-spacing effect of breastfeeding may continue throughout the baby's second year. Although breastfeeding alone is not a reliable means of birth control, when it is exclusive in the beginning and gradually followed with the introduction of solids, there may be some suppression of fertility for a longer period of time.

• Hormones present with breastfeeding continue to help relax the mother, perhaps making daily life with a busy, curious toddler more enjoyable and less stressful.

• Breastfeeding allows the mother an easy way to provide comfort when a toddler is ill, upset, tired, or hurt, perhaps making this aspect of mothering a little easier.

• The closeness of nursing enhances the child's relationship with his mother and provides a sense of stability during a time of rapid growth and development.

• Breastfeeding guarantees physical closeness when life becomes hectic for mother and child. This can be especially important for a mother with older children or a mother who works outside the home.

• Only once a baby enters toddlerhood can he truly express his sheer delight in nursing by the way he grins, nods, chuckles, or sighs in anticipation of being at his mother's breast. Moments like these are impressed upon a mother's memory forever!

Mothers of breastfeeding toddlers often state "having to defend self" as one of the greatest challenges of extended nursing. If you're a mom already breastfeeding a child past one year of age or a mom breastfeeding a younger baby, but thinking about extended nursing, take heart in knowing that there are others out there like you and that what you are doing with and for your child is valuable and worthwhile! Following is a list of resources you may find helpful and supportive as you nurse your toddler:

• "Mothering Your Nursing Toddler"by Norma Baumgarner

• "The Nursing Mother's Guide to Weaning" by Kathleen Huggins and Linda Ziedrich

• La Leche League - a mother-to-mother support group that supports and encourages breastfeeding, including extended nursing. To find a group in your area, call 1-800-LA-LECHE or visit their web site by clicking here.

Last revision: July 13, 2000

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