Ask Our Expert - Deciding How Long To Breastfeed

October 07, 2008

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Ask Dr. Jana Deciding How Long To Breastfeed

QUESTION


How long should I continue to breastfeed? When do the benefits decrease? — Karen in Seattle, Washington

ANSWER	June 8, 2000


There are many ongoing benefits to breastfeeding, which means that there is no absolute right answer to your question. While the American Academy of Pediatrics currently recommends breastfeeding infants for the first 12 months of life, many mothers are not interested in breastfeeding this long. If you enjoy breastfeeding and want to continue, there is no reason for you to stop. However, if you would rather not breastfeed and are just trying to do the "right thing", or have factors that influence your ability to continue (such as returning to work, etc), I will say that any breastfeeding is better than none, whether it be 3 weeks or 3 months. Many mothers use 6 months as their goal based on the fact that breastfeeding helps protect an infant from infection. An infants immune system is not fully mature before 6 months of life, and the antibodies a baby gets from his mother during pregnancy tend to disappear over the first 6 months of life. Your breastmilk offers your baby an ongoing source of infection fighting antibodies during this period where he would otherwise be more susceptible to infection. — by Laura Jana, M.D., F.A.A.P.

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