Journalist/author Allison Yarrow spoke to PEOPLE recently to promote her book, Birth Control: The Insidious Power of Men Over Motherhood, and during the conversation, she revealed she still breastfeeds her 4-year-old son.
She told PEOPLE the following:
We haven’t stopped breastfeeding because breastfeeding works for us. It’s something we do once or twice a day. Sometimes it happens more than that if he’s hurt or sick, but it is a way that we connect and communicate with each other.
What does the World Health Organization say about this? Well, they say babies should be breastfed on demand from 6 months to “up to 2 years of age or beyond.”
So you know, they don’t really put an age restriction on it, and for Yarrow, the benefits extend beyond just communication.
The research shows that breastfeeding can reduce breast and ovarian cancers. The hormone oxytocin is released when you breastfeed, so it actually feels good. It’s a way of connecting. And I don’t think I would still be doing it if I didn’t enjoy it. I wouldn’t be just sacrificing myself at this stage. My 4-year-old has other food, right? He’s not coming to me for food.
As for when she plans to stop? Well, she hasn’t put an exact date on it.
I don’t have any parameters or plans to stop breastfeeding him. Sometimes I think to myself, maybe when he goes to kindergarten, that seems like that would be a good time, but that feels like a very kind of socially imposed deadline.
What do you think? Is 4-years-old too old to still be breastfeeding? Or is it simply none of our business?
