How long does breastfeeding last
Release time : 03/07/2025 09:30:01
From the moment your baby was born, you've made up your mind to persevere with breastfeeding.
Is it necessary for a 1-year-old baby to continue breastfeeding? How long should breastfeeding last? Is there a set number? Can't one be breastfed when angry? Using soap to wash the breast is also not allowed.
When breastfeeding a baby, there are some things to keep in mind. Mothers' Web will reveal all the questions you may have about breastfeeding.
How long should breastfeeding last? Is there a set duration for it? In fact, there is no definite answer to this question.
Breastfeeding involves many personal circumstances and emotions. In reality, there may be various factors that affect whether or not you continue to breastfeed your baby. However, regardless of the situation, it is important to extend the duration of breastfeeding as it is beneficial to both yourself and your baby's health.
How long is the best duration for breastfeeding? Let's take a look at authoritative advice on this topic.
I.M.A. recommends that breastfeeding should last at least 12 months, and preferably up to 24 months.
As long as you continue to feed, your breast milk will always be there.
If it is not nutritious, why do we drink milk? It is for those who only eat breast milk after 6 months of age and do not properly add complementary foods. Breast milk cannot provide them with the comprehensive nutrients needed for their growth and development.
Breastfeeding is the most natural and ideal way of providing food to your offspring.
For babies, breastfeeding is a lot of good: it is convenient, the temperature is appropriate, the nutrition is rich and the baby can communicate with the mother more.
Let's take a look together at the benefits of breastfeeding.
1. The perfect food for babies has nothing like the time-tested perfection of breast milk.
The milk contains all the nutrients needed by a newborn, and is easier to digest than any other infant food.
Every mother's breast milk is specially designed for her own child. Eating the breast milk of a mother will ensure that the baby's weight grows normally and does not become overweight in the future.
2. Enhancing infant immunity and reducing the incidence of diseases is no better than breastfeeding in protecting your child from allergies and various infections.
In the first six months of his life, he was exclusively breastfed. This allowed him to better prepare for the introduction of other foods.
The active substances in breast milk can prevent harmful bacteria and viruses from growing in the undeveloped body of babies.
Breast-fed infants seldom suffer from serious respiratory illnesses, but formula-fed ones often do. For example, they are prone to bronchitis and pneumonia, etc.
Lacking health-related concerns, your child will grow to be happier.
3. Easy to digest and avoid constipation; breast milk induces beneficial bacteria in the infant's intestines, making it easy to digest.
Consuming formula milk produces fewer beneficial bacteria, making it less digestible.
Infants who are breastfed rarely have constipation, even if they do not defecate for 2 or 3 days, and the stools that emerge are soft.
Infants fed with formula milk often suffer from constipation and have hard stools, which is very painful to expel.
4. Promote the development of the baby's muscles. When the baby's small mouth is eagerly sucking on the nipple, he is engaged in an exercise that promotes the development of the jaw and facial structure.
Teeth and mouth shape problems often arise in infants who have grown up on bottles.
5. Promoting the development of baby's brain, it is crucial for infants to develop their brains.
Lactation contains all the correct components to help develop the brain and nervous system of a baby.
Studies have found that babies who are breastfed in the womb are smarter than those who are fed formula at eight years old.
Misconceptions in breastfeeding include: Misconception 1: Wearing work clothes to breastfeed. Mothers who are in the medical profession, especially those working in hospitals, may attract trouble by wearing work clothes that often carry invisible viruses, bacteria, and other harmful substances. Therefore, it's imperative for mothers to remove their work clothes (ideally also their coat) and wash their hands thoroughly before breastfeeding.
Misconception 2: Breastfeeding while angry. An expert's experiment has shown that when people are angry, their bodies can produce toxins. This toxin can make water turn purple and cause precipitation. Therefore, mothers should not breastfeed when they are angry or just after a fit of anger, as this could result in the baby inhaling milk containing "toxins" that could lead to poisoning, from mild skin rashes to more serious illnesses.
Misconception 3: After exercise, the breastfeeding person may produce lactic acid during physical activity. This lactic acid accumulates in the bloodstream and causes the milk to taste off, making it unpalatable for the baby.
Testing has shown that moderate to vigorous exercise can produce this condition. Therefore, mothers who are expected to breastfeed should only engage in mild exercise and take a break after the exercise before feeding.
Misconception 4: Lying down to feed can cause the baby's stomach to be horizontal, making lying-down feeding likely to lead to vomiting.
The correct thing to do is to take a sitting or middle sitting position, put one foot on a small stool, hold the baby, and use the other hand to gently hold the nipple with your thumb and index finger to feed it to prevent the nipple from clogging the baby's nostrils or the baby from choking or spitting milk due to too fast milk.
Misconception 5: When nursing, if laughter is induced during feeding, the laryngeal opening can be opened, and milk that has been inhaled might accidentally enter the trachea. Mildly, it can lead to aspiration pneumonia; in severe cases, it can trigger aspiration pneumonia.
Misconception 6: To keep breasts clean, frequent washing is indeed necessary, but it should not be done with soap.
Because soaps can remove the stratum corneum of skin by mechanical and chemical means, damage its protective action and make the skin surface "alkali", which is conducive to the growth of bacteria.
Over time, it may lead to breast inflammation. To avoid this harm, it is best to clean with warm water.
Misconception 7: Wearing heavily scented makeup while breastfeeding can attract the baby's special attraction to the mother's body odor (also known as body odor), which can stimulate a pleasant "eating" mood. Even before birth, the baby will turn its head towards the direction of the mother's scent in search of the breast.
In other words, a mother's scent helps the baby to suckle. If she wears heavy makeup that masks her familiar smell, the baby may find it difficult to adjust and may be depressed, with decreased appetite which can hinder its development.
Misconception 8: Regularly wearing synthetic fabric underwear poses a significant risk, as the fibers can fall off and obstruct the mammary glands, leading to the detrimental consequence of reduced milk production. This was recently discovered by Professor Kenjiro Kuwabara from Tokyo's National Women's University, who conducted research on some breastfeeding mothers. He found numerous silk-like substances in their breast milk, suggesting that these substances were introduced into the mammary glands through circular motions within the underwear or bra. Therefore, it is advisable for nursing mothers to avoid wearing synthetic fabric underwear and to opt for cotton alternatives.
Misconception 9: During the breastfeeding period, many women rush to lose weight, fearing they will become overweight after childbirth. However, fat is an essential component of breast milk. If the intake of fat from food decreases, the mother will use stored fat to produce milk. The stored fat often contains substances that are harmful to the baby's health. Therefore, it is advisable to wait until weaning before embarking on a weight-loss plan.
The feeding diet during the lactation period should be scientifically sound.
One cannot eat vegetarian food due to the fact that the essential quality protein, unsaturated fatty acids, trace elements, and fat-soluble vitamins such as A, D, E, and K in the baby's development are mostly found in animal products. If vegetarian food is consumed, it inevitably leads to a decrease in the nutritional quality of breast milk.
2. It is not advisable to consume large amounts of monosodium glutamate (MSG). While MSG is safe for adults, its main component, sodium glutamate, can enter the breast milk and enter babies' bodies, leading to zinc deficiency and hindering physical and intellectual development.
Three things should be avoided when consuming milk powder: due to its effect of reducing milk supply, it can lead to a baby lacking essential nutrients.
Principles of Breastfeeding: It is essential to adhere to the following principles when breastfeeding. Mothers, are you aware of them? Principle 1: From birth until the age of six months, provide ample breast milk for your baby. There are two critical periods in a baby's life, and the first one is within the first year, especially during the first six months. This period is considered the peak of growth, with the younger the age, the faster the growth. This can be clearly demonstrated by the growth curves of baby weight and height.
The breast milk contains all the nutrients required for the growth and development of a 4-month old baby. Therefore, no food or water should be added to the baby's diet until he is 4 months old. It is recommended that breastfeeding be continued.
Principle 2: Feeding as needed. With breastfeeding, especially in the first month, breastfeeding when needed is very important.
Principle 3: Timely Addition of Feeding, Providing Comprehensive Nutrients After a baby is four months old, regardless of the amount of breast milk secretion, breastfeeding alone cannot fully meet the developmental needs of the baby. It is necessary to start timely adding complementary foods to the baby according to the principles of infant feeding addition, such as egg yolk, vegetable puree, and starch-based food, to prevent anemia and other issues.
The addition of complementary foods is not optional, but it should be treated with the same importance as breastfeeding.
For instance, muddy soup, it plays a pivotal role in the transition from liquid to solid diets among humans.
The increasing variety and quantity of complementary foods not only ensure that babies obtain comprehensive nutrition, but also enable them to gradually transition into weaning, thereby preparing physically and psychologically for the complete weaning process.
Principle 4: During breastfeeding, mothers must pay attention to their comprehensive nutrition and health. Mothers should adhere to calcium and vitamin A and D intake to provide high-quality "milk" for their babies.
If the mother is calcium deficient, in order to ensure a constant level of calcium in the breast milk, she must tap into her own bone calcium. This can lead to osteoporosis, rickets, and other issues such as back pain in the mother.
The composition of breast milk can change over different postpartum periods, and external factors can temporarily affect the secretion of breast milk. While ensuring proper nursing and taking care of oneself, it is important to maintain a relaxed mood and avoid premature dieting. This will ensure normal secretion of breast milk while preserving its nutritional and immune components.
Principle 5: Working moms must ensure that their milk secretion does not decrease. They can squeeze the milk out and store it in a bottle, let the caregiver feed it to the baby during the day, and insist on breastfeeding early and late.
Short-term business trip moms can express milk into a container and freeze it in the refrigerator. The baby will be fed from there by the baby's caregiver.
Mommy should pay attention to timely nipple feeding while working and traveling.
Principle 6: Weaning should be gradual. Generally speaking, if weaning is to be completed entirely at 8 months, the baby can start from 6 months, gradually reducing the number of breastfeedings and replacing it with complementary foods.
Certainly, for mothers experiencing insufficient breastfeeding, it is advisable to wean early and ensure a smooth transition, facilitating the physiological and psychological adaptation of the baby.
Principle 7: Pay attention to the season for weaning. The best time for weaning is in spring or autumn, when the temperature is neither too high nor too low and avoid weaning during summer.
The medical information presented in this text is for reference only and should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice or diagnosis.
If you are experiencing discomfort, it is recommended to seek medical attention immediately for a professional diagnosis and treatment.