Young mothers often argue about breastfeeding. This is a difficult and controversial topic. Until what age is it permissible to breastfeed a baby? To find the answer to the question, we brought together several points of view, those who are in favor and those who are AGAINST: both ordinary women and the GW consultant spoke out.
“Long-term feeding is good for both mother and child”
Maria, 27 years old, Sasha's mother (1 year 8 months)
Even before my son appeared, I came to visit my friends who had given birth and was perplexed, watching them feed their already “grown-up” children. For example, my former classmate fed her daughter when she was one and a half years old. But then I read the literature on motherhood and feeding and came to the conclusion that long-term breastfeeding is good for the health and psyche of the child, a means of calming and connecting with the mother.
During pregnancy, I planned to breastfeed until my son gave up the breast himself. Now I think differently: I will continue until two years, and then we'll see. I don't understand why many people are against it: breastfeeding makes life easier!
I often sit on various sites, chatting with other girls. I feel sorry for the mothers who put the child to bed for a long time. They either sing a lullaby, or sit next to the crib for hours ... As a result, they pop a bottle of water or diluted fruit drink. In our family, this has never happened - I rock my son a little, I can tell a poem or a fairy tale, and then I give a breast. After that, he usually sleeps peacefully. At night he does not whine, and even if so, I apply it to my chest. He drinks his mother's milk and falls asleep again. The nights are quiet.
I feed the baby several times a day before bedtime and daytime. At other times I don't put it on my chest. As for the diet, it is no longer as strict as in the first months: I eat fast food, chocolate, tangerines, pizza, sushi, citrus spicy and fatty foods. I can have a glass of red wine - all in reasonable amounts, of course.
Irina, mother of Dasha (10 years old) and Ilya (1 year 4 months)
I'm tired of arguing with opponents of longevity. I feed my son with breast milk, but I try not to talk about this to strangers. My daughter was not weaned until the last: she was almost 2.5 years old when she gave up breast on her own and switched to regular food. We do not observe any deviations: an excellent student, an athlete, very talented and intelligent.
It annoys me when others impose their views and claim that after 12 months the milk becomes "empty", useless. Milk does not disappear by itself a year after giving birth - which means that nature has provided for everything and milk is necessary. A woman's milk contains useful substances that strengthen the immune system, immunoglobulins that protect against viruses, vitamins, stem cells. Are you proposing to deprive the child of such powerful protection?
My children practically do not get sick. All sorts of viruses, infectious diseases and other sores bypass them. Children have excellent immunity, ARVI almost never get sick, intestinal infections have never been. There are no complaints about the psyche either: obedient, calm, kind, well developed. And about feeding in public places ... I can't say. This is a question from the field of ethics and education for both mother and child.
“After a year, the baby does not need breast”
Polina, mother of Nastya (1 year)
Among young mothers, the topic of GW caused some unhealthy excitement. And this has not happened before! Now many are fixated on this and believe that children need to be fed almost to primary school age. Milk mixtures are sharply negative and aggressively criticized by a woman who has decided to feed her child with them. Allegedly, it contains harmful substances. But we live in such an ecological situation that there are plenty of them in mother's milk. I stopped feeding at 7 months on the recommendation of a doctor, did not maintain lactation, and the gynecologist said that it was not necessary for more than 9 months. And nothing terrible happened!
The daughter on the mixture began to sleep peacefully all night. I quickly forgot about the chest. There were no hard feelings. And my husband and I now have a lot of free time - we were even able to fly to rest.
I was afraid that the baby would start to be capricious. I saw with what difficulty a friend disaccustomed her son: he constantly grabbed his chest, cried, pinched her and asked to eat. When a child asks for a breast at 2 years old ... I consider it a relic of the past. It looks out of place and wild. In addition, it is a lot of stress for the baby.
Anna, Viti's mother (1 year 1 month)
I think GW should last up to a year. No more. Then you can add regular food: vegetables, meat, fruits ...
The World Health Organization does advise feeding up to 2 years of age. But these are recommendations for backward states! In developed countries, they have not fed for so long for a long time: there is no need. I read an article by a woman psychologist - she is also against long feeding. The child can grow up dependent, and the mother will get used to the constant care of her child, as this is done by mothers suffering from anxiety and overprotection.
The pediatrician told me to stop feeding by one year. When I was 11 months old, I began to apply the baby less often, and when I was a year old I started sleeping in another room. Yes, I had to go through several restless nights, show the child that it is impossible to reach for the chest, wore closed clothes. I was adamant. But now my son has an excellent appetite, he eats absolutely everything that they give.
Marina, HW consultant: “Feeding after a year is okay”
In general, the age of self-excommunication begins after 2 years: the sucking reflex in the baby fades away. He begins to eat ordinary food without any problems, he himself refuses to breast. It's also convenient for a young mother: no need to take pills to stop lactation, bandage her breasts ...
Let me remind young mothers about the benefits of long-term feeding. Mother's milk is very good for the baby. It affects his intellectual development and health, protects against allergies. Milk contains iron, calcium, various groups of vitamins, protein - all the elements are perfectly absorbed by the child's body from breast milk. In addition, HB reduces the risk of breast cancer in a woman (by about 4% each year of breastfeeding).
Note: weaning a baby from the breast, cock all the pros and cons and focus not on folk recipes and myths, but on the opinion of your doctor.
- Breastfeeding after a year and sleeping with a baby is not about me (my mother's experience)
- Fundamental advice for nursing moms
- Weaning a baby correctly: ways, rules, myths and what not to do
- First feeding - when and where to start?
- Harmful tips for weaning
