How Beneficial Is Breastfeeding Past 1 Year In Terms Of Antibodies And Immunity?
September 28, 2009 by Guest Author
Filed under Breast Feeding Supplies
Hi everyone. My baby is 16 months old and I am still breastfeeding a couple of times during the day. He would get like 6 – 7 ounces a day. Is it still protective of his health through the antibodies. The reason I am asking it, I will have to go on an international flight of 11 hours to Turkey. And unfortunately I do not have the peace of mind because of this swine flu threat. Would you suggest I increase the milk supply through pumping to give him better protection against virus or bacteria? Thanks for your answers…
After 6 months the baby will start producing his/her own antibodies. But breastfeeding is still fine and long as you are still avoiding toxic foods.
Breastfeeding only passes on antibodies to illnesses you’ve been exposed to…and after first few months your baby would have got the benefits of breastfeeding with regards to immunity. The only reason to continue breastfeeding at your child’s age, is convenience or personal preference.
Breastfeeding will not protect your child from swine flu, unless you’ve previously had it. You’d need to be exposed and contagious for a few days before your own immuntiy response kicked in….by this time your baby has already been exposed to flu without antibodies already available to fight it.
Swine flu is just as likely to affect you at the local supermarket as it is in turkey……just wash your hands frequently, and don’t let people cough or sneeze on you.
good luck
http://hubpages.com/hub/How_and_When_to_…
That website has a lot of good information.