I think for many Mums it's hard to tell the difference between 'breast refusal' and 'self weaning'. 'Self weaning' is very, very uncommon before 12 mths, but 'breast refusal' is common. With the right advice on getting past breast refusal, most babies will go back to the breast happily after whatever the issue was has passed or been resolved. Another problem is that when most consult a medical professional when baby is a bit older they are told that their baby is weaning (incorrectly) as most don't have much experience working with mums bfing older babies and toddlers.

There are exceptions to every rule, but it's only going to be a very, very small percentage who self wean before 12 mths.