No. 6, November-December 2000, pp. Like having a child, the decision to breastfeed is as much an emotional commitment as it is physical. Nursing a baby requires a total commitment from you the mother. The demands it places on both body and mind are considerable. The decision to breastfeed can weigh heavily on mothers.
Some women gladly embrace the commitment, others are more tentative.
That was the question I struggled with while nursing my little Anna Lee. Nursing an infant made sense to me, but I wondered how long I should continue. Role models were few and far between. A casual remark from a friend who mentioned she hoped to nurse exclusively for at least six months became my first guide. Six months seemed reasonable enough.