Breastfeeding Past 1

Do what feels best for you. I ebf this baby and we both had Covid back in January. I’m vaccinated and we were both horribly sick with it. Like almost in the hospital but my husband and 3 year old barely had runny noses/fevers. Like others have said it doesn’t completely protect them from it. So I wouldn’t base my whole decision to wean or not based off covid.

Antibody protection from breast milk is more early development than later - the antibodies get through because the lining of the intestine is leaky during the early months (it’s also why you cannot give babies solids at first). Once the baby is on solids the antibodies are really only protective for their GI. That is still something, but breastfeeding is not exactly armor for older babies the way it is for newborns. On the bright side our kiddos are getting out of the age range where they are at higher risk from Covid.

I am still breastfeeding but because we both still enjoy it. We have dropped day feeds (unless he’s sick) as I’m back at work. If you are ready to stop then stop. Covid antibodies wouldn’t be enough of a reason to continue to provide breast milk if I was wanting to be done. Do whatever makes you feel the most comfortable. Also, it is perfectly normal to breastfeed past 1 and beyond.

Do it if you like but as another poster said, it likely won’t help give you much of anything for Covid other than peace of mind.I personally know two exclusive breast feeders whose babies still contracted Covid, flu, and RSV this last year. One was a newborn and the other a six month old. So it’s not a guarantee by any means.

This was one of my reasons for keeping up with breastfeeding too. However my daughter has dropped off milk intake a lot. She only takes a bedtime bottle so it was difficult to maintain supply at 1 pump a day. So I stopped and we have been going through freezer supply. She still has about a month of freezer milk left. Also, I did some research and some studies show that the antibody protection from milk is good so long as it’s in the body. Once your LO digests it, it’s very minimal or no protection. So since mine was down to 1 bottle at night, I also felt like the protection concept sorta is gone too.

I don't think there's any harm in it, so if it gives you some peace-of-mind, go for it! I'm formula feeding now, but if I were in your shoes, I'd probably keep going until LO could get vaccinated (hopefully soon!).