Just how long you should breastfeed is usually culturally specific and determined. Whereas in the United States, nursing beyond a year is often considered unusual (or “extended” breastfeeding), in many developing nations nursing up to age two and beyond is regarded as normal. To understand more, visit the breastfeeding diet blog.

Some people will say that you ought to only breastfeed as long as is it is convenient for you as a mother. However, because of the numerous scientific studies that report that long term breastfeeding confers several health, intellect and other important advantages to your child, I would suggest that you may want to try to breastfeed for as long possible, even if it is not as convenient as bottle feeding your baby.

Breastfeeding is not always easy. For mothers who work, a lot of effort will need to be put into pumping milk during work hours. Even those who do not work often find continually breastfeeding a child to be tiring, since an infant who is breastfed will generally need to feed more often than one who does not.

However, preparing bottles demands a lot of effort too and has additional costs also. Ironically, you may have to work longer to bottle feed your infant, since bottle feeding is actually quite a costly undertaking. Even though it may seem that bottle feeding is easier initially, once you consider in the additional work hours to pay for formula and all the supplies essential to bottle feed plus factor in the additional hours you may have to spend taking care of a sick child (since breastfed kids are generally healthier), you will quickly see that breastfeeding your baby in the end may be much easier.

Given the medical benefits and emotion bonding, economic advantages and the overall time savings that breastfeeding affords, I would suggest that you should breastfeed as long as possible! If you aren’t suffering from a significant illness that puts your baby at risk (such as HIV/AIDS) or are taking prescription medication that poses a danger to your child, you should try to seek whatever support you can get to assist you nurse your child for at least for a year, ideally longer.