While most mums stop breastfeeding before their child's second birthday, others extend it that bit longer. But when it's extended for 'too long', family and friends may start asking questions, considering it to be unusual. But one mum has proudly shared how she breastfed her daughter until her sixth birthday, claiming it's set her up for a healthy life.
The single mum has taken to Mumsnet to share the benefits it brought to her child, as she urges parents to keep an open mind about it. She said: "Children's immune systems are not fully functioning til they are around 6/7yrs. Breast milk changes as they get older to meet changing needs.
Just like broccoli doesn't suddenly lose its nutritional value when you hit 25 breast milk continues to be beneficial to older children." She claims it brought her daughter "masses of health benefits" and "helped her get to sleep for years" - but it came to a "natural end" as her daughter's jaw started to change. She added: "As she got older it was easier to discuss with her why I wanted to stop and she was getting to the same point.
She would have carried on longer but knew I needed to stop. Towards the end, her jaw was changing with her teeth falling out/new adult teeth coming through and it wasn't as comfortable for me so we had a chat and she understood it was coming to an end." The World Health Organisation recommends mothers to exclusively breastfeed their newborns for six months, before gradually introducing appropriate foods after six m.