Friday Pareenting Myth #14

Hi everyone,

Nancy Nelson, our wonderful lactation consultant in our Practice, wrote in our next myth: "Breastfeeding Has No Nutritional Value after 1 Year of Age." Enjoy this post and check out or Free Parenting Myth App for iPhones-If you like our app, please leave it a positive review! Daniel Weissbluth

33 Popular Parenting Myths

You may have heard that after one year of age, breast milk has no nutritional value. This is not true. Breast milk, produced by the mother of a child over age 12 months, still has nutritional value for the child. It continues to have immune factors and antibodies that develop based on the mother's exposure to infections. By one year of age, the baby's immune system is more developed than it was at birth, but breast milk continues to supply immune benefits to the baby. By one year of age, the baby should be eating other foods such as fruits, vegetables, grain, dairy and meats, but breast milk is still an important part of their diet. In a study published in 2005, the average fat content of milk from mothers of babies 2 to 6 months of age was 7% while the fat content of the milk of mothers of babies 12 to 39 months was 11%. The American Academy of Pediatrics, in their statement on breastfeeding, has recommended that mothers breastfeed their babies for at least 12 months and thereafter as long as mutually desired.

References:

Fat and Energy Contents of Expressed Human Breast Milk in Prolonged Lactation.

Pediatrics, March 2005

Mandel, Dror et al.

American Academy of Pediatrics Committee Work Group on Breastfeeding,

Pediatrics, 1997, 100: 1035-1039

Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk.

Nutrition During Lactation-1991

Committee on Nutritional Status During Pregnancy and Lactation

Institute of Medicine

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