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Nursing Beyond One Year

Why Are So Few Moms Breastfeeding Beyond a Year?

By Virginia Gilbert

According to breastfeeding guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), "the World Health Organization and many other experts encourage women to breastfeed for as long as possible, one year or even longer, because human milk provides the best nutrition and protection against infections." Since the AAP officially endorsed breastfeeding babies for at least one year in 1997, the practice seems to have gained momentum. It's not unusual now to see women nursing infants over decaf Frappuccinos at Starbucks.

But how common is it to spot a toddler at his mother's breast? Not very, says the AAP. The organization has reported that only 21.6 percent of mothers breastfeed past 6 months.

If extended nursing beyond a year is so good for baby, why aren't more mothers doing it? The AAP speculates that cultural and social factors account in part for nursing's relative unpopularity in this country. Adrienne Wilde, a La Leche League leader in Hollywood, Calif., has heard women's stories of being scolded and even accused of molestation for publicly breastfeeding toddlers.

Despite the AAP's stamp of approval on breastfeeding, Wilde feels that extended nursing carries shock value. "Society views women's breasts as objects for men's pleasure when their real function is to feed babies," says Wilde.

But the unspoken cut-off date for nursing isn't just about the appropriate use of breasts. "There's a real push to raise an independent child," says Wilde, referring to the way Americans prize this trait. Indeed, we admire many of our cultural icons – John Wayne, the Lone Ranger, Clint Eastwood, the astronaut Sally Ride – not for their relationship skills, but for their ability to blaze their own trail. Perhaps we fear parenting methods that foster interdependence, such as extended breastfeeding, will turn a nation of "winners" into wimps?

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