Go read the Disclaimer again. I am not a doctor. This is not medical advice. Seriously.
Let's start with the word wean. This is a horrible word. We use it to talk about breaking a bad habit or getting off of a dependency on drugs. It has suggestions of disrupting or ending a bond. Hardly what we'd like to use to describe the end of breastfeeding.
As if that's not bad enough, some people in the pediatric community use the term "precocious weaning" to mean very early termination of breastfeeding.
For a while there, in the US and some other countries, babies weren't getting any mother's milk at all. Those women who did breastfeed commonly stopped after a couple months, four being a comparatively long time to breastfeed. If we consider the introduction of solids as the beginning of weaning, that starts between 4 and 6 months even for many committed breastfeeders.
When would weaning occur without culture? Dettwyler currently has the definitive answer to this question. Dettwyler has the definitive answer to a number of questions regarding breastfeeding. It's worth your time to explore her website.
Night Weaning Leads to Fertility Return
Bad Advice from Health Care Providers that Weaning is Necessary
There are no studies showing that the benefits of breastfeeding for the child end at any particular age. Research has, thus far, only examined babies up to the age of two years; we have no research beyond that age, so any claim that the benefits end is opinion based on personal or limited anecdotal experience; my anecdotal experience suggests there is no end to the benefit. In centuries past, women nursed sickly relatives who might otherwise have died (or, at any rate, died sooner). Culture defines this arena.
Never mind the nypothetical breastfeeding college student. Many who are supportive of breastfeeding small babies are not supportive of breastfeeding if the baby is old enough to help get that shirt up, or ask for the breast by name, euphemistic or otherwise. As a result, many women who are following WHO guidelines and nursing to age two or beyond, are hiding their breastfeeding relationship from friends and health care professionals.
Women who do breastfeed toddlers emphasize again and again that they cannot imagine parenting without the breast. Getting a toddler to calm down after a tantrum, or helping an overtired child fall asleep are two of magic boob's most reliable superpowers. Women who slowly wean, whose child asks for the breast weeks or even a month or more sometimes note that while there was no particular negative emotional impact of refusing, the next day the child was very sick. Breastfeeding keeps babies alive and healthy. While toddlers and older children have some immune system of their own, all those antibodies are still a great help in avoiding serious illness and recovering quickly.
As long as a woman breastfeeds at the breast, the nipple stimulation will encourage the production of prolactin, which is protective against stress. Parenting is stressful; no one claims otherwise and a lot of people enjoy mocking new parents who are surprised at just how stressful parenting is. One of the other effects of prolactin is to reduce fertility. A woman who would like to have a baby may have to modify when she nurses, or wean entirely in order to get pregnant.
Copyright 2006 by Rebecca Allen.
Created February 3, 2006 Updated March 8, 2006