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Extended breastfeeding usually means breastfeeding after the age of 12 or 24 months, depending on the culture. == North America == Elizabeth Baldwin says in ''Extended Breastfeeding and the Law'', "Because our culture tends to view the breast as sexual, it can be hard for people to realize that breastfeeding is the natural way to nurture children." In Western countries such as The United States of America, Canada, and Great Britain, extended breastfeeding is a taboo act. It is difficult to obtain accurate information and statistics about extended breastfeeding in these countries because of the mother's embarrassment. Mothers who nurse longer than the social norm sometimes hide their practices from all but very close family members and friends. This is called "closet nursing".〔 In the United States, breastfeeding beyond 1 year of age is considered ''extended breastfeeding'', and in contrast to WHO recommendations, the American Academy of Pediatrics stated in 1997 that, "Breastfeeding should be continued for at least the first year of life and beyond for as long as mutually desired by mother and child". In the United States overall, according to a 2010 CDC "report card", 43% of babies are breastfed until 6 months and 22.4% are breastfed until 12 months, though breastfeeding rates varied among the states.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 work=U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention )〕 Breastfeeding rates in the U.S. at 6 months rose from 34.2% in 2000 to 43.5% in 2006 and the rates at 12 months rose from 15.7% in 2000 to 22.7% in 2006. The U.S. Healthy People 2010 goals were to have at least 60% of babies exclusively breastfed at 3 months and 25% of babies exclusively breastfed at 6 months so this goal has yet to be met.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 work=U.S. Department of Health and Human Services )〕 There have been several cases in the United States where children have been taken away from their mother's care because American courts or government agencies found the mother's extended breastfeeding to be inappropriate. In 1992, a New York State mother lost custody of her child for a year. She was still breastfeeding the child at age 3 and had reported experiences of sexual arousal while breastfeeding the child. The authorities took the child from the home in the fear that the mother might sexually abuse the child. Later, the social service agency that took over the case said that there was more to the case than could be released to the press due to confidentiality laws.〔 In 2000, an Illinois child was removed from the mother's care after a judge ruled that the child might suffer emotional damage because as a result of not being weaned. The child was later returned to the mother and the judge vacated the finding of neglect.〔 A social service agency in Colorado removed a 5-year-old child from the mother because she was still breastfeeding, but the court ordered the child returned to its family immediately.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Extended breastfeeding」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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