Jo Middleton explores the reasons why women choose to feed their young children past babyhood. Discover women's stories of extended breastfeeding and child-led weaning
Breastfeeding an older baby or child can be a very personal and private experience. Although it continues to play a huge part of a young child’s physical and physiological development, many mothers worry about negative reactions from other people so it is often something that isn’t talked about openly.
To find out more, I conducted a survey of breastfeeding mothers. I asked them about their motivations for and experiences of extended breastfeeding and the kind of support and reactions they got from the people around them. The response was overwhelming, with over 500 women of all ages from around the world keen to share their thoughts and feelings. Little may be said about extended breastfeeding in the baby books, but that clearly does not reflect the passion and strength of feeling among the women who do it.
