A few weeks ago we explained the recommendation of exclusive breastfeeding until six months. From that moment until the year, milk should continue to be the main food with the supplementation of other nutrients.
Since 12 months, breast milk remains an incomparable food in the diet of children and that is why the recommendation of the WHO and the majority of associations and organizations related to health is that of continue breastfeeding until two years or more or until the mother and son want it.
There is little scientific information regarding breastfeeding between the ages of 12 and 24 months and beyond because there are few children who reach these ages being breastfed, however the available information indicates that even after two years of age the Breast milk remains an excellent contribution of calories and nutrients.
The period that includes between birth and two years of age is vital for development, growth and health of a person. Below we will explain why it is not recommended to suppress breast milk during this critical period.
Breast milk is still the best food
Breast milk has a relatively high fat content compared to most complementary foods. It is a key source of energy and essential fatty acids, which have a direct relationship with children's brain development and remains the most complete food from a nutritional point of view.
Breast milk adapts to the age of the child who drinks it. This means that as the child grows the milk contributes more calories.
In Babies and more The 'aguachirri' produced by women in their breasts from 6-12 months provides more energy than cow's milkIt brings psychological benefits and better cognitive development
Several studies have already described the numerous psychological benefits of breastfed children. Breastfeeding provides food, comfort, tenderness, communication between mother and child, contact and transfer of oxytocin (the hormone of love) from mother to child (and increase in the mother).
In spite of the many popular prejudices about breastfeeding older children (although perhaps it would be necessary to define what an older child is, since there are people who consider that breastfeeding is a 4-month-old child and there are others for whom it is not until after 12-15 months), there is no evidence that associates breastfeeding with problems of emotional or social imbalance.
Lawrence Gartner, president of the AAP (American Pediatrics Association) breastfeeding working group explained in the last statement made in this regard, dating back to 1997, that “The Academy has not set a limit (for breastfeeding). There are children who are breastfed until 4.5 or 6 years. This may be infrequent, but not harmful. ”
Fergusson and collaborators showed in 1999 that children aged 15 to 18 who had been breastfed for a longer time had better levels of attachment to their parents and considered their mothers less overprotective, but that they took more care of their care, if compared with young people who had been fed formula milk.
Angelsen N et al. Concluded in 2001 that longer breastfeeding time benefited babies' cognitive development. For this study, they compared children who had not reached 3 months of breastfeeding, those who stayed between 3 and 6, and those who were breastfed 6 months or more. The result was that those who were breastfed longer obtained better scores in the cognitive tests performed at 13 months and at 5 years.
Continue to offer immune protection
The immune system of a child definitely matures at an age between 2 and 6 years of age. Breast milk is an incomparable source of defenses (in fact the concentration of immune cells in milk increases in the second year) so that the breastfed child will continue to benefit from the supply of maternal defenses while his own system has just matured.
This becomes evident in a situation of illness when the appetite of children for other foods decreases but the intake of breast milk is maintained. In gastrointestinal pathologies above all, it is the best source of food and hydration, improving the recovery of children.
It has also been found that when a child is vaccinated, breastfeeding increases the immune response, further stimulating the infant's immune system.
Breastfeeding for at least two years, and this is one of the most important reasons for this recommendation, protects against type 1 diabetes.
Numerous studies suggest the relationship between type 1 diabetes and the introduction before the first year of life of products containing intact cow's milk proteins (non-adapted milk derivatives).
It is a protective factor against childhood obesity
Breastfed children are generally thinner and have been observed to appear to be a protective factor of obesity.
The longer the duration of breastfeeding, the lower the risk of obesity and overweight. It has been shown a prevalence of obesity at 5-6 years of age of 4.5% in non-breastfed children, 3.8% in breastfed for 2 months, 2.3% 3 to 5 months, 1 , 7% breastfed between 6 and 12 months and 0.8% in those with breastfeeding over one year of age.
In Babies and more Breastfeeding beyond six months: these are the short and long term benefits for the health of the baby and the motherThe longer breastfeeding, the greater benefits for the mother
We have already talked about Babies and more about the numerous benefits of breastfeeding for the mother. The longer a woman breastfeeds, the greater the benefits.
Lactation on demand delays menstruation in many women. Iron needs in the maternal diet are reduced by half. This also causes the fertility moment to be delayed.
Reduces the risk of osteoporosis fractures in the elderly. The cause is unknown but it has been shown in studies with elderly people that those women who breastfeed longer suffer less fractures.
Reduces the risk of breast and ovarian cancer. For every 12 months of increase in the average duration of breastfeeding in the populations of developed countries more than 50,000 cases of cancer could be avoided. This amounts to a 4.6% decrease in risk for a woman for every 12 months she breastfeeds.
As you can see, the benefits known to both mom and baby are numerous. As anthropological studies show, the natural age of weaning is between two and seven years and there are more and more children who are breastfed to advanced ages (the 4,5 or 6 commented by the president of the AAP more than ten years ago) .
How long to breastfeed a child? In spite of everything explained, the answer is clear: even when the mother and child want.
