Breastfeeding Your Toddler

INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND TO SUPPORT THE BENEFITS OF LONGTERM TODDLER BREASTFEEDING

One fantastic source of information is the La Leche League. This organization and its literature and reccommend related books and broschures can easily be accessed via the Internet.

A very informative and supportive book which addresses breastfeeding toddler concerns is the book MOTHERING YOUR NURSING TODDLER, by Norma Jane Bumgarner. It explores the "why" of nursing a toddler, and has many wonderful suggestions to facilitate long-term nursing.

Anyone contemplating nursing their baby would do well to have a copy of THE WOMANLY ART OF BREASTFEEDING, on hand as well. (available through La Leche League). This book answers almost any concern that could come up regarding nursing. A sample of its chapter headings include:

Going Back to Work
Life as a Family
The Manly Art of Fathering
Weaning Gradually with Love
Why Breast is Best
How breastfeeding affects a Mother.

WHY BREASTFEEDING YOUR TODDLER CAN BE A CHALLENGE IN OUR CULTURE

Due to the change in dynamics in our culture, what used to be taken for granted in childcare practices is no longer the norm. A woman may have her first baby and may live geographically far from her mother, aunts and other female relatives who could help her establish her breastfeeding with their experience. On the other hand, there are many mothers aunts and grandmothers who might not have nursed their children, and who thus, have no 'womanly wisdom'
concerning breastfeeding to pass on to the next young mothers of their "tribe".

In many cultures around the world there are rituals, traditions, customs associated with a new baby. The care of the infant is something that the young woman does not have to reinvent for herself. The new mother can then count on those traditions and experience to help her make the adjustment to motherhood. That is why I so like the term "The womanly art of Breastfeeding" because it is indeed an art, that is learned. It can and should be a font of wisdom and lore and tradition that is passed on to the new mothers in a family and in a culture and in a community.