Optimal duration of breastfeeding

Introduction. The question of the optimal timing of cessation of lactation from the perspective of maternal-child relationships remains controversial.

Aim. Тo determine the optimal timing for stopping breastfeeding based on data on the formation of the child’s personal characteristics and the relationship with the mother.

Materials and methods. The results of a prospective study of mother-child relationships during the period of cessation of breastfeeding are presented. The age of the child was assessed at the termination of breastfeeding, the difficulties experienced by the mother and the child at its termination (affective attachment, characteristics of the child’s behavior). Observation was carried out in the classroom in the group of short-term stay in preschool conditions 1–2 times a week for at least 1.5 hours. 108 mother-child pairs were under observation. Depending on the duration of breastfeeding, couples were divided into two groups. The first group – 64 children who are breastfed for no more than 18 months, the second group – 44 children who are breastfed for more than 18 months. Statistical processing of the obtained data was carried out using the Excel program using Student’s t-test and Pearson’s _χ² method. Differences were considered statistically significant at p < 0.05.

Results and discussion. Since the conditions of the children’s polyclinic do not allow for monitoring the child and his mother, the study was carried out in a group of short-term stay in a preschool educational institution, which is quite typical for the modern urban maternal population. The work was carried out jointly with teachers and psychologists who developed criteria for assessing mother-child relations and the child’s behavioral characteristics. In the group of children who were breastfed after 18 months, affective attachment to the mother, use of the breast to soothe them in the absence of breast milk, anxiety when falling asleep, were 2 times more common than in children who were breastfed for less than 18 months. The data obtained indicate the need to inform nursing mothers about the mental characteristics of a child’s development in certain age periods, a decrease in lactation after a year, and its frequent termination by 18 months.

Conclusions. Based on the data obtained, it can be considered appropriate the optimal duration of breastfeeding up to one and a half years.

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