Before I got pregnant, before I was even serious enough to consider getting pregnant, I thought that breastfeeding a 2-year old was, well, weird. I thought that any Mom who breastfed her child for that long must have issues with letting go and that for sure, that “kid” will grow up with some problems. Boy oh boy, if I could go back in time, I would probably slap myself upside the head and give myself a huge lecture on the benefits of extended breastfeeding–not just for the baby, but for the Mommy too.

Now that I am a breastfeeding Mommy, I can’t imagine my relationship being any different with my son. As a friend mentioned on a forum I belong to, it’s not like you wake up one morning and you are nursing a toddler. The transition is gradual…you think that nursing a 2 (or 3, or 4) year-old is inconceivable, until it just gradually happens. Nursing my almost 20-month old toddler, I could not agree more. It’s not weird, it’s not disgusting, it’s not child abuse. It’s nourishing. It’s comforting. It’s normal and natural. Not to mention the most brilliant mothering/parenting tool I am aware of.

According to kellymom’s researched sources, extended breastfeeding has been shown to benefit toddlers nutritionally, toddlers are sick less often, have fewer allergies, are smart and socially well-adjusted. The benefits to the mother include a reduction in the incidence of breast, ovarian, uterine and endometrial cancer. So what’s the problem?

Breasts have been so “sexualized” in western society that as babies become walking and talking toddlers, breastfeeding somehow evolves into something almost perverse. Any breastfeeding mother knows this is pure rubbish! It is ironic that most people don’t oject to children sucking their fingers, pacifiers, or bottles past infancy.

Historically, and presently in many countries, breastfeeding past the magic 12 months is not considered “extended”–it’s simply “normal”. I believe that if more people understood the benefits of extended breastfeeding beyond 12 months, cultural change might lead to its acceptance in Western society.

NOTE: I am very much aware that not every woman makes the choice to breastfeed her children. This is not a personal attack to those women. This is my personal view on the benefits of extended breastfeeding.