Breastfeeding Beyond The First Year(Part 3/3)

BREASTFEEDING BEYOND THE FIRST YEAR (Part 3/3)
It may pose a unique set of challenges, but overcoming them provides dividends for your baby, writes a mother who shares her experience

By Anita Daubars | Reprinted with permission from Today’s Parents Magazine

Click here to read Part 2 and more photos

BREASTFEEDING & FERTILITY
Lactation delays the return of a woman’s menstrual periods after birth. This lactational amenorrhea lasts for varying periods of time in different women, averaging about 14.6 months postpartum in mothers who totally breastfeed their babies for six months and thereafter introduce solids gradually.

The length of lactational amenorrhea is largely determined by the baby’s breastfeeding pattern: is breastfeeding token in nature and scheduled, with solid being introduced at an early age, or is it ad lib and round-the clock, with a later introduction to solids and with baby satisfying his nutritional and his sucking needs at the breast.

Breastfeeding has a contraceptive effect as it suppresses ovulation. Because of the uncertainty of when ovulation will begin again, nursing mothers are encouraged to find other means of contraception. As the nursling nurses less and consumes more food, a mother’s chances of conceiving increase.

Mother of two Irene Tan continued to express her breast milk for her toddler for several months after he had weaned from direct breastfeeding because of its health benefits. Another mother continued nursing her toddler who had food allergies because breast milk was nutritionally wholesome and nursing helped to soothe her child when she developed allergic reactions to suspect foods.

NURSING THROUGH PREGNANCY & TANDEM NURSING
When a nursing mother finds herself pregnant, she is faced with the decision of continuing to breastfeed through the pregnancy or weaning.

She needs to consider the following: her own parenting values and needs; the part breastfeeding plays in her relationship with the nursling; the nursling’s emotional needs and other nutritional and immunological considerations.

Pregnant nursing mothers face breastfeeding challenges such as sore nipples, breastfeeding agitation and a reduction in milk supply because of hormonal changes.

Ways to cope include limiting breastfeeds and supplementing feeding with other milk.

Tandem nursing is closely related to the practice of nursing through a subsequent pregnancy. Tandem nursing refers to nursing two or more children of different ages at the same time; this may not be physically at the same instant, but one after another.

Advantages of tandem nursing that mothers cite include an easier transition to being a big brother or sister and a tender relationship between siblings right from the start.

The biggest obstacle for extended breastfeeding mothers is criticism from others; instead of giving mothers advice, often, affirming them and expressing confi dence in their ability to make good choices is the most helpful.

A mother nursing her toddler needs encouragement; she may find that, among babies similar in age to her own, her baby is the only one still nursing. For such a mum, it is sometimes a lonely journey and it is crucial that she belongs to a community of women who nurse older babies.

Many a mother has been encouraged to stay the course of breastfeeding because of her friendships with other nursing mothers.

Many believe that children whose dependency needs have been met outgrow these needs and achieve independence. When they are able to do this at their own pace, they tend to be more secure than children force into independence before they are ready.

Source: Breastfeeding Beyond The First Year(Part 3/3)

Breastfeeding Beyond The First Year(Part 2/3)

BREASTFEEDING BEYOND THE FIRST YEAR (Part 2/3)
It may pose a unique set of challenges, but overcoming them provides dividends for your baby, writes a mother who shares her experience

By Anita Daubars | Reprinted with permission from Today’s Parents Magazine

Click here to read Part 1 and more photos

NURSING STRIKES
Another issue nursing mums face are nursing strikes. Features of a Nursing Strike: When the nursling refuses to breastfeed without apparent reason. This can occur at any age, lasting from two to four days although a mother in this situation might wonder if the refusal to nurse is a sign of her baby’s readiness to stop breastfeeding.

A baby who is ready to wean will usually be over a year old, will be consuming other food and drink well and will cease nursing gradually, dropping off one breastfeed at a time.

A baby on a nursing strike may not be consuming other foods well and his refusal to nurse will be sudden and upsetting for him.

The mother can figure out the causes of baby’s sudden refusal to nurse by asking: does the baby have an illness or injury that could be interfering with nursing? Has there been a change in the baby’s life?

To get baby back to nursing as before, mothers can try nursing when the baby is very sleepy and by giving him or her lots of quiet, affection, and skin-to-skin contact.

HEALTH CONCERNS
Many nursing mothers are concerned about their nursling’s nutritional needs. Breast milk, being species specific and nutritionally superior, forms an invaluable part of a toddler’s diet that includes varied complementary foods.

Breast milk contains nutrients for baby’s growth as well as immune factors such as antibodies, growth factors, digestive enzymes and hormones.

Once complementary foods have been introduced at around six months of age, the other benefits of breast milk continue.

As such, breastfed toddlers tend to fall sick less often than their nonbreastfed peers and illnesses tend to have a shorter duration.

Nursing toddlers generally have: fewer ear infections; fewer respiratory infections; better digestion with fewer intestinal infections and less constipation; heart health; protection against allergies; less exposure to potential allergens also reduces the baby’s risk of infections, which may trigger allergies; and an intellectual advantage.

EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Mothers sometimes wonder if breastfeeding into toddler hood would cause baby to be clingy as a toddler. However, being clingy towards his primary caregiver at certain times is typical of almost any toddler, regardless of whether he is breastfeeding.

Pediatrician Dr William Sears believes that children who are allowed to breastfeed for as long as they need have a less anxious attachment to caregivers.

Click here for next Part 3

Source: Breastfeeding Beyond The First Year(Part 2/3)