Breastfeeding Toddlers: Breastfeeding Past One Year

When I first had my baby, it was never my intention to breastfeed her into toddlerhood. I imagined breastfeeding her until she was 12 months old, and after that she wouldn’t need breast milk any more.

The truth is that there is no set age when a baby stops needing breast milk. Research has indicated that the natural weaning age for a baby is anywhere between two and six years of age. The World Health Organisation recommends that babies be breastfed for at least the first two years of life. A child’s immune response becomes fully developed at around age six, and until that age breast milk can provide them with the antibodies they need to fight illness. Of course most children will wean a long time before then.

There are many reasons to continue to breastfeed a baby past 12 months of age. There is the continued supply of antibodies in the breast milk as mentioned above. Breast milk remains an excellent source of nutrition for as long as your baby is breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is about more than the milk though. When toddlerhood arrives, so do bumped heads and bruised knees. Breastfeeding is a wonderful way to comfort an upset toddler. Sometimes toddlers like to breastfeed just to be close to their mother for a while, particularly if their mother has been away or busy for much of the day. Some breastfeeding toddlers will go without milk all day while their mother is at work, and will only breastfeed when she returns home. Breastfeeding is also a useful tool for helping a tired toddler to sleep.

Breastfeeding a toddler is not like breastfeeding a younger baby. A toddler doesn’t need to breastfeed as often, even though sometimes they would like to. It is possible to say “later” to a toddler if you feel that the time or location is inconvenient for you to breastfeed, and you can give them other food or drink to satisfy them.

Breastfeeding a toddler in public is not something that everyone will be comfortable with. It can certainly be challenging. Toddlers are not discreet breastfeeders, and they don’t realise that you don’t want the whole world to see your breasts. To them your top is merely an obstacle to be pulled as far out of the way as possible. Toddlers can’t seem to keep still while breastfeeding either, and will kick out with their legs, and pull at hair, noses, ears and anything else within reach. One way to overcome this is to wear a necklace or scarf to occupy their hands while they are breastfeeding. Personally I now only breastfeed in public when absolutely necessary as it has become a bit like wrestling with a bear!

I don’t know how long I will continue to breastfeed my daughter. My aim is to breastfeed her until at least two years of age, in line with World Health Organisation advice, but really it’s up to her. I will continue to provide her with her favourite source of comfort for as long as she needs it. The only thing I will sometimes dictate is the time and the place.