By Karen Miles, IBCLC
Are you nearing the one-year mark in your breastfeeding journey, with a goal of going the distance? Besides providing a nutritional powerhouse of macronutrients, micronutrients, and immune-boosting components, breastfeeding has likely become a helpful tool in your parenting toolbox – soothing your little one when sick, injured, or just needing a little comfort.
But perhaps family and friends have recently been trying to convince you to give up breastfeeding, causing some second thoughts to form. Maybe your child is the only one still breastfeeding in their play group. Or, your cousin and aunt all stopped nursing their babies at, or long before, 12 months. Everyone seems to be saying breastfeeding any longer “isn’t worth it” because breast milk at this point isn’t “adding much benefit” beyond the solid foods your toddler is devouring (not true). Whole milk (for ages 12-24 months), and skim or 1% milk (for ages 2+ years), is an easy purchase at the store.
You’ve likely already heard: most major health authorities recommend long-term nursing:
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends "continued breastfeeding along with appropriate complementary foods introduced at about 6 months, as long as mutually desired by mother and child for 2 years or beyond.” Additionally, the World Health Organization and the 2025-2030 federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans have adopted similar recommendations.
But of course, it’s a personal decision between you and your baby. You have already achieved a tremendous accomplishment, making it to a year. That said, if you are looking for specific reasons to motivate yourself to stay the course to for two or more years of breastfeeding (or even just a short spell past one year), we’ve got you covered.
We recognize that you may need a cheerleader in your court because the odds may feel stacked against you: 97.3% of mothers don’t breastfeed 24 months or more, according to a recent Indiana University School of Public Health survey of 221 U.S. mothers with children less than or equal to three years old. (If you’d like to see more of their survey findings, check out this journal abstract.)
Consider the following collection of science-backed statistics that illustrate the health rewards of a longer lactation journey:
Perk #1: After one year, your breast milk content is naturally “supercharged” with fats, proteins and calories for your active toddler.
From the get-go, let’s debunk the myth that breast milk past one year doesn’t provide much nutritional value. A study involving 137 breastfeeding mothers, reported on in a 2018 issue of Nutrients journal, revealed “...that macronutrient contents expressed by mothers breastfeeding for longer than 1 year, namely fats, proteins and energy content, were increased significantly, compared with HM expressed by women breastfeeding up to 12 months.” (HM = human milk) The study showed that the calories in breast milk fed to older children comes primarily from (healthy) fat for the growing child, as opposed to mostly from carbs in earlier mature breast milk.
And is there macronutrient value in going past two years of breastfeeding, if desired? Absolutely! The journal further reports, “In the group of mothers breastfeeding for more than 2 years, the concentrations of fat and protein were the highest in comparison to other analyzed groups.” (Compared to groups with younger children.)
Perk #2: Your toddler, who loves to touch everything everywhere, will enjoy “strengthened” immune factors in breast milk now, compared to earlier in your lactation journey.
If your toddler is in day care, a weekly play group, or even just accompanies you on routine trips to the grocery store, exposure to germs is a given. Luckily, many of the immune components in breast milk, such as those listed below, actually increase with extended lactation.
Lysozyme:
Lysozyme is an enzyme present in breast milk that chips away at bacterial cell walls, helping prevent your sweetie from getting certain types of bacterial infections. There is a monthly lysozyme increase of 10.2% between 11 and 17 months of breastfeeding, according to these sources.
Secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA):
The most plentiful antibody in human breast milk, secretory immunoglobulin A, is like a protective coating applied to your little one’s gut and respiratory tract. It neutralizes or prevents bacteria and viruses from attaching to the mucosal surfaces on the infant’s mouth, tongue, respiratory tract, and gut. The possible result? Less likelihood of respiratory disease such as asthma when studied in mouse models, and some degree of protection against the rare but devastating gut disease, necrotizing enterocolitis.
Through the first 18 months of lactation, sIgA averages 1.8 g/L. But there is a distinct change that occurs between months 11 and 17, with sIgA concentrations increasing 6.0% monthly between months 11 and 17. Then, after the second year of lactation, sIgA peaks at a whopping 7.55 g/L on average. That’s a potential quadruple increase in sIgA compared to early lactation (source).
Immunoglobulin G (IgG):
Like a sidekick to sIgA, IgG helps fight off infections. It may also have a hand in shaping healthy development of the infant gut microbiome. According to a recent issue of Nutrients journal, “IgG concentrations are lowest during the first year of lactation, averaging at 14.71 ± 6.18 mg/L, and increase after the second year to 18.95 ± 6.76 mg/L.”
Lactoferrin:
According to the Institute for the Advancement of Breastfeeding & Lactation Education (IABLE), lactoferrin is “the second most abundant protein in breast milk.” It plays several roles: It hitches a ride on iron to help your baby absorb the iron, fights infections, and acts as an anti-inflammatory and an antioxidant. One study found that between 11 and 17 months, lactoferrin concentrations rose by 9.7% per month.
Perk #3: Your toddler may gain significant protection against some gut diseases, both now and in the future.
If inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) runs in your family history, then you’ll love what the American Academy of Pediatrics – citing various research studies – has to say about the GI impact to your baby of breastfeeding a year or more: significantly lower risk of the two main inflammatory bowel diseases, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis:
- Breastfeeding until at least 12 months may result in a huge 80% lower risk of Crohn’s disease for your baby in their lifetime, compared to breastfeeding your baby 3-6 months.
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Breastfeeding until at least 12 months may result in a whopping 79% lower risk of ulcerative colitis for your baby in their lifetime, compared to breastfeeding your baby 3-6 months.
Why continue breastfeeding past a year, when 12 months appears adequate for substantial Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis reduced-risk? According to Oregon Health & Science University's School of Medicine, in their summary of a 2020 Cell Host & Microbe journal article,
“A healthy microbiome is developed within the first three years of life and plays a number of critical roles throughout the lifespan, including how well people are able to fight disease and prevent infections. Breastmilk seeds and nurtures the microbiome with beneficial bacteria, until it is fully mature.”
Perk #4: Longer breastfeeding may help your child’s brain development and brain function for years to come!
Many past research studies linking breastfeeding duration with later IQ or later school performance have had a hard time separating out the potential influence of socio-economic factors from the equation. But one recent study analyzing brain structures, reported on in a May 2025 issue of the journal Pediatric Research, used a recruitment strategy that matched youth participants to the demographic population of the U.S. Census. They followed children from age 9 and 10 years old through a long 10-year period. The results were impressive, with those breastfed more than 12 months boasting the greatest brain structural advantages.
According to the article’s authors:
- “In this longitudinal study, breastfeeding demonstrated dose-dependent, lasting positive influences on neurocognition that remained stable over a 2-year period spanning late childhood to early adolescence.
- Specifically, individuals who were breastfed longer showed increased cortical thickness, surface area, cortical myelin, and fluid cognition, predictors of positive outcomes in later life, including physical and mental health.”
Perk #5: You may steer clear of some pretty big health risks yourself, by sticking it out past a year.
It’s always great to have a win-win for both you and your baby. Breastfeeding is one of those scenarios. The American Academy of Pediatrics says the research from meta-analyses is clear: lifetime breastfeeding of over 12 months can lower maternal risk of the following:
Diabetes mellitus:
- If you breastfeed over 12 months, you may earn a 30% lower risk of diabetes mellitus (any type of diabetes) than if you breastfed a lesser amount.
- For type 2 diabetes mellitus specifically, breastfeeding longer reduced the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus by 32% compared with a shorter lactation journey.
Hypertension (high blood pressure):
If you breastfeed over 12 months, you may receive a 13% lower risk of hypertension compared with a shorter duration of breastfeeding.
Breast cancer:
Breastfeeding 6-12 months may decrease your risk of breast cancer by 9% compared to no breastfeeding, but breastfeeding beyond 12 months may result in even better breast cancer risk-reduction: 26% lower risk (compared to no breastfeeding).
Ovarian cancer:
Breastfeeding 6-12 months may decrease your risk of ovarian cancer 28% compared to no breastfeeding, but breastfeeding beyond 12 months may result in even better ovarian cancer risk-reduction: 37% lower risk (compared to no breastfeeding).
Charting your course past a year
Of course, nothing is certain when it comes to all of these “health rewards” of longer breastfeeding. That’s because healthy lifestyle habits, genetic predisposition, and a spot of luck come into play with anyone’s health journey. But the above statistics do clearly show that breastfeeding beyond 12 months boasts a ton of potential health perks for both the breastfeeding mother and breastfed child.
Remember: As the breastfeeding parent, you hold the cards. If you’d like, you can change up your feeding rhythms while continuing to offer breast milk. It’s a lot easier to change your feeding rhythms after your baby is 12 months old, when cow’s milk (and water) can safely be offered as liquids, too.
For example, if you are growing tired of breastfeeding when out and about, then you may decide to breastfeed at only certain times of the day, and either pump or offer cow's milk or water at the other times. Many parents find they need to keep direct breastfeeding or pumping for at least two times daily (if not more often) to retain enough breast milk supply for those feeding sessions, while some can get away with just once daily without their milk output slowing so much that their baby refuses the breast. Of course, your baby may have opinions if your milk flow slows, so you may need to adjust the number of sessions accordingly.
If your desire is to breastfeed or pump less often, many lactation consultants recommend cutting back on nursing/pumping sessions gradually by dropping no more than one session every three to seven days, if not longer. For some mothers, weaning gradually – perhaps even over several weeks – may make the adjustment easier. This gives the mother’s body (and the baby) some time to adapt, especially to the hormonal shifts that occur with weaning which may affect the mother’s mood. For example, with less nipple stimulation and less milk removal, the release of the feel-good hormone oxytocin generally decreases. Working directly with a lactation consultant can also help guide you in this transition.
Whether you decide to fill a small or large portion of your toddler’s diet with breast milk past a year, perhaps the biggest perk to continue nursing is something that can’t be measured in numbers: that magical connection with your baby when breastfeeding.
Karen Miles is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) and Lactation Content Specialist with Milkify.
This article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, or be a substitute for medical advice. Please consult your healthcare provider, or your baby’s healthcare provider, for any questions you may have related to your, or your baby’s, specific health circumstances.
