Georgia Town BANS Public BreastFeeding!!!

[EmtheFishLady]

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Ok, I'm not even going to comment on the debate at hand, but this cracked me up.

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

I have seen 2 year olds and older with a bottle hanging from their mouths, what's the difference? Are they going to ban that too?

 

[chickensioux]

I could go on all day on this one BUT (and this is only my opinion) when my children were born I decided to breast feed them. It is a big decision to me and one that takes great determination and dedication to do it. It meant only I would be feeding the baby, no bottles ever. My babies had no solid food before 6 mos. of age, only breastmilk. They were healthy, gaining weight steadily and never had stomach problems. It was a decision I do not regret. I went to LaLeche League meetings, read everything I could on the subject. While it is the most natural thing in the world, it was not the easiest. But I did it. I hated when I was out in public and needed to feed my baby. I always went to the car or some other private, clean place, not a bathroom. If I could not find a private place, I always made sure I was very discreet with a small blanket, etc. I have seen other mothers breastfeed in public and I have to say that it does not bother me in the least. I honestly would not want to see blatant breasts but done with love and descretion, I don't mind it. I used to hate hearing other mothers say they couldn't breastfeed because it took up too much of their time or "I didn't have enough milk". You cannot schedule a breastfed baby like a bottlefed baby. Supply and demand, that's pretty much it. The more you feed, the more milk there will be. I fed my 2nd until he was 3 yrs. LaLeche suggests letting the baby wean themselves and 3 is about average age. They are not feeding every hr. or two at that age maybe just once a day. And at that age you can tell them to wait until we get home. I'm sure someone will disagree with all of this but did they breastfeed? I have nothing but fond memories of my children at this age and would do it all over again. It is the best, most natural and healthiest way to begin your child's life.

 

[hikerchick]

What if the kid was 10? How would everyone feel then?

 

[Hoss1975]

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Oh Hoss, please don't go there. Please.

They should be on solid foods by the age of 2,i think the cutoff point should be around 1 maybe a little over.So let's just agree to disagree.

 

[kemclaughlin]

The WHO recommends breast feeding until AT LEAST two years of age. The AAP is constantly modifying it's recommendation upward from a year. How nice of the government to find yet another way to interfere in our freedom and tell us how to raise our kids.

Excerpts from Kellymom.com There is a lot more information available on the site and it is all well cited.

Myths: Breastfeeding Past Infancy

By Kelly Bonyata, BS, IBCLC


MYTH: Mother’s milk becomes less nutritious after the first year.
FACT: Mother’s milk continues to provide substantial amounts of nutrients well beyond the first year. At some point your baby will need to take in nutrients from other sources, but mother’s milk remains a valuable contribution to your child’s diet.

MYTH: The immunities in mother’s milk are insignificant after the first few months.
FACT: The immunities in mother’s milk continue as long as nursing continues, and some of the immunities increase in concentration as baby moves toward weaning. Children who are breastfed have fewer illnesses and illnesses of shorter duration than their non-nursing peers. The American Academy of Family Physicians notes that children weaned before two years of age are at increased risk of illness.

MYTH: Extended breastfeeding makes a child overly dependent and can cause psychological harm.
FACT: On the contrary, meeting a child’s need for breastfeeding fosters independence on the child’s own developmental timetable. Both research and the experiences of mothers worldwide indicate that children who nurse past a year have excellent social adjustment. Per the American Academy of Pediatrics, “There is no upper limit to the duration of breastfeeding and no evidence of psychologic or developmental harm from breastfeeding into the third year of life or longer.” The American Academy of Family Physicians notes that the natural age of weaning in humans has been estimated to be between 2 and 7 years, and adds "There is no evidence that extended breastfeeding is harmful to mother or child."

MYTH: Mothers who breastfeed past infancy have not learned other ways of comforting their child.
FACT: For the typical extended breastfeeding mother, breastfeeding is only one of many tools in her parenting toolkit.

MYTH: The longer you breastfeed, the harder it will be to wean.
FACT: Age has much less to do with ease of weaning than does your child's developmental readiness for weaning. Each child has his own developmental timeline for child-led weaning. If mom initiates weaning, then the closer the child is to weaning on his own, the easier it will be (for both mom and child) to accelerate this natural progression. If the child takes the lead in weaning, then this is not an issue at all.


Breastfeeding children benefit NUTRITIONALLY

Although there has been little research done on children who breastfeed beyond the age of two, the available information indicates that breastfeeding continues to be a valuable source of nutrition and disease protection for as long as breastfeeding continues.
"Human milk expressed by mothers who have been lactating for >1 year has significantly increased fat and energy contents, compared with milk expressed by women who have been lactating for shorter periods. During prolonged lactation, the fat energy contribution of breast milk to the infant diet might be significant."
-- Mandel 2005
"Breast milk continues to provide substantial amounts of key nutrients well beyond the first year of life, especially protein, fat, and most vitamins."
-- Dewey 2001
In the second year (12-23 months), 448 mL of breastmilk provides:
29% of energy requirements
43% of protein requirements
36% of calcium requirements
75% of vitamin A requirements
76% of folate requirements
94% of vitamin B12 requirements
60% of vitamin C requirements
-- Dewey 2001
Studies done in rural Bangladesh have shown that breastmilk continues to be an important source of vitamin A in the second and third year of life.
-- Persson 1998
It's not uncommon for weaning to be recommended for toddlers who are eating few solids. However, this recommendation is not supported by research. According to Sally Kneidel in "Nursing Beyond One Year" (New Beginnings, Vol. 6 No. 4, July-August 1990, pp. 99-103.):
Some doctors may feel that nursing will interfere with a child's appetite for other foods. Yet there has been no documentation that nursing children are more likely than weaned children to refuse supplementary foods. In fact, most researchers in Third World countries, where a malnourished toddler's appetite may be of critical importance, recommend continued nursing for even the severely malnourished (Briend et al, 1988; Rhode, 1988; Shattock and Stephens, 1975; Whitehead, 1985). Most suggest helping the malnourished older nursing child not by weaning but by supplementing the mother's diet to improve the nutritional quality of her milk (Ahn and MacLean. 1980; Jelliffe and Jelliffe, 1978) and by offering the child more varied and more palatable foods to improve his or her appetite (Rohde, 1988; Tangermann, 1988; Underwood, 1985).

References

Breastfeeding children are SICK LESS OFTEN

The American Academy of Family Physicians notes that children weaned before two years of age are at increased risk of illness (AAFP 2001).
Nursing toddlers between the ages of 16 and 30 months have been found to have fewer illnesses and illnesses of shorter duration than their non-nursing peers (Gulick 1986).
"Antibodies are abundant in human milk throughout lactation" (Nutrition During Lactation 1991; p. 134). In fact, some of the immune factors in breastmilk increase in concentration during the second year and also during the weaning process. (Goldman 1983, Goldman & Goldblum 1983, Institute of Medicine 1991).
Per the World Health Organization, "a modest increase in breastfeeding rates could prevent up to 10% of all deaths of children under five: Breastfeeding plays an essential and sometimes underestimated role in the treatment and prevention of childhood illness." [emphasis added]
References

Breastfeeding children have FEWER ALLERGIES

Many studies have shown that one of the best ways to prevent allergies and asthma is to breastfeed exclusively for at least 6 months and continue breastfeeding long-term after that point.

Breastfeeding can be helpful for preventing allergy by:
reducing exposure to potential allergens (the later baby is exposed, the less likely that there will be an allergic reaction),
speeding maturation of the protective intestinal barrier in baby's gut,
coating the gut and providing a barrier to potentially allergenic molecules,
providing anti-inflammatory properties that reduce the risk of infections (which can act as allergy triggers).
References

Breastfeeding children are SMART

Extensive research on the relationship between cognitive achievement (IQ scores, grades in school) and breastfeeding has shown the greatest gains for those children breastfed the longest.
References

Breastfeeding children are WELL ADJUSTED SOCIALLY

According to Sally Kneidel in "Nursing Beyond One Year" (New Beginnings, Vol. 6 No. 4, July-August 1990, pp. 99-103.):

"Research reports on the psychological aspects of nursing are scarce. One study that dealt specifically with babies nursed longer than a year showed a significant link between the duration of nursing and mothers' and teachers' ratings of social adjustment in six- to eight-year-old children (Ferguson et al, 1987). In the words of the researchers, 'There are statistically significant tendencies for conduct disorder scores to decline with increasing duration of breastfeeding.'"
According to Elizabeth N. Baldwin, Esq. in "Extended Breastfeeding and the Law":
"Breastfeeding is a warm and loving way to meet the needs of toddlers and young children. It not only perks them up and energizes them; it also soothes the frustrations, bumps and bruises, and daily stresses of early childhood. In addition, nursing past infancy helps little ones make a gradual transition to childhood."
Baldwin continues: "Meeting a child's dependency needs is the key to helping that child achieve independence. And children outgrow these needs according to their own unique timetable." Children who achieve independence at their own pace are more secure in that independence then children forced into independence prematurely.
References

Breastfeeding your child past infancy is NORMAL

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that "Breastfeeding should be continued for at least the first year of life and beyond for as long as mutually desired by mother and child... Increased duration of breastfeeding confers significant health and developmental benefits for the child and the mother... There is no upper limit to the duration of breastfeeding and no evidence of psychologic or developmental harm from breastfeeding into the third year of life or longer." (AAP 2005)
The American Academy of Family Physicians recommends that breastfeeding continue throughout the first year of life and that "As recommended by the WHO, breastfeeding should ideally continue beyond infancy, but this is not the cultural norm in the United States and requires ongoing support and encouragement. It has been estimated that a natural weaning age for humans is between two and seven years. Family physicians should be knowledgeable regarding the ongoing benefits to the child of extended breastfeeding, including continued immune protection, better social adjustment, and having a sustainable food source in times of emergency. The longer women breastfeed, the greater the decrease in their risk of breast cancer." They also note that "If the child is younger than two years of age, the child is at increased risk of illness if weaned." (AAFP 2008)
A US Surgeon General has stated that it is a lucky baby who continues to nurse until age two. (Novello 1990)
The World Health Organization emphasizes the importance of nursing up to two years of age or beyond (WHO 1993, WHO 2002).
Scientific research by Katherine A. Dettwyler, PhD shows that 2.5 to 7.0 years of nursing is what our children have been designed to expect (Dettwyler 1995).
References [see also position statements supporting breastfeeding]

MOTHERS also benefit from breastfeeding past infancy

Extended nursing delays the return of fertility in some women by suppressing ovulation (References).
Breastfeeding reduces the risk of breast cancer (References). Studies have found a significant inverse association between duration of lactation and breast cancer risk.
Breastfeeding reduces the risk of ovarian cancer (References).
Breastfeeding reduces the risk of uterine cancer (References).
Breastfeeding reduces the risk of endometrial cancer (References).
Breastfeeding protects against osteoporosis. During lactation a mother may experience decreases of bone mineral. A nursing mom's bone mineral density may be reduced in the whole body by 1 to 2 percent while she is still nursing. This is gained back, and bone mineral density may actually increase, when the baby is weaned from the breast. This is not dependent on additional calcium supplementation in the mother's diet. (References).
Breastfeeding reduces the risk of rheumatoid arthritis. (References).
Breastfeeding has been shown to decrease insulin requirements in diabetic women (References).
Breastfeeding moms tend to lose weight easier (References).


Page last modified: 11/12/2010
Written: 3/12/98

Additional Resources

Extended Breastfeeding Links @

Extended Breastfeeding References @

Portuguese version of this page translated by Denise Arcoverde for Breastfeeding Online

 

[Hoss1975]

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That would be mental illness.Mother and child both

 

[gritsar]

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[hikerchick]

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That would be mental illness.Mother and child both

That's kinda how I see it. And I breast fed my baby. But now that she is 21, I won't do it anymore.

 

[gritsar]

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Oh Hoss, please don't go there. Please.

They should be on solid foods by the age of 2,i think the cutoff point should be around 1 maybe a little over.So let's just agree to disagree.

Aren't you male? Just want to clarify.