Duration of breastfeeding - Questions and Answers

<h1>Breastfeeding - www.breastfeeding.org.nz</h1>

Duration of breastfeeding

How long should I breastfeed for?

Babies should be exclusively breastfed until around six months of age, with continued breastfeeding until at least one year of age or beyond.

Protection from viruses, bacterial infections and diseases

After birth a baby continues to be protected from viruses, bacterial infections and diseases by a mother’s breastmilk. At around four months of age babies will start to produce some of their own antibody protection but the developing immune system is not fully functional until a child is around two years of age.

The immune factors that come from a mother, via her breastmilk, to her baby are amazing. Not only do they give a baby protection against a wide range of illnesses but they switch on protective effects in the baby.

They also provide what is called specific environmental protection. This means that when a mother is exposed to any bacteria or microbiological threats in her environment her body makes specific antibodies to this threat and then these antibodies go straight through her breastmilk and into her baby. An anthropologist named Sarah Blaffer-Hrdy once called these antibodies, “specialised prescriptions’, which describes this almost magical process very well.

Thinking about stopping breastfeeding

Mothers may meet their particular goals for breastfeeding without any problems and this is a great achievement.

Sometimes mothers make an individual plan to breastfeed for a certain length of time and then circumstances change and they may feel they have to discontinue.

This may be because:

they are going back to work
their baby is going into a child care situation
an illness of the mother or baby disrupts or changes breastfeeding.

Child care and employment outside the home are not necessarily incompatible with continued breastfeeding. Child care centres and workplaces are starting to work towards supporting breastfeeding women in our communities as part of a drive to help women breastfeed longer if they wish to do so.

See more information in the Providing breastfeeding-friendly environments in the community section.

Mothers can always ask for help and advice from their Lead Maternity Carer (LMC) midwife, the La Leche League or lactation consultant if:

they feel they need to stop breastfeeding
would like to continue breastfeeding but are experiencing some challenges or concerns
if their baby decides it's time to wean from the breast - there may be something mothers can do about it if they wish to continue

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Where to get help

Midwives

Healthline - 0800 611 116

Well Child

La Leche League

More information on these and other breastfeeding help providers...

Page last reviewed: 31 July 2008