Breastfeeding beyond 12 months. An historical perspective.

A decade ago, child psychiatrist Coello-Novello, in her term as Surgeon General of the United States, said, "It's the lucky baby, I feel, who continues to nurse until he's two." The accumulated evidence supports her statement. The understanding of the benefits of breastfeeding beyond 12 months should support the cultural change in which eventually prolonged breastfeeding becomes normal.