Mum explains why she still breastfeeds 4-year-old daughter after critics call it 'inappropriate'
A mother has hit back at critics who claim it is 'inappropriate' for her to breastfeed her four-year-old daughter.
Shinnai Visser - who goes by @mindful_mama_za on Instagram - has built a platform online through sharing her experience with primal mothering as well as hosting mother and baby retreats, however it would appear that not everyone agrees with her parenting techniques.
Chiefly the Cape Town based creator's decision to breastfeed her four-year-old daughter.
Now you'd think it's pretty frowned upon to pass judgement on other people's parenting decisions - especially if you don't have children yourself - however this doesn't stop some of Visser's followers, with the 34-year-old regularly receiving comments saying her decision to breastfeed her older child is 'sick', 'creepy' or 'inappropriate'.
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However the mother has now hit back at critics, telling PEOPLE: "Some people assume it’s about my needs rather than my child’s, which couldn’t be further from the truth.
"If you have ever breastfed, you will know I am not doing this for me."
How long does a baby need to be breastfed for?
While the NHS recommends exclusive breastfeeding, which is where an infant receives only breast milk (or formula) for the first six months of their life, there is no set rule on how long a child should be breastfed for.
Some healthcare experts suggest that breastfeeding a child until the age of two, if you're able to, alongside introducing other foods is ideal while some cultures may breastfeed for longer.
In fact some studies even suggest that children can be breastfed for as long as the first seven years.
However extended breastfeeding is often controversial, the backlash faced by Shinnai not being unusual.
"I’ve heard comments implying that it’s inappropriate, unhealthy or that it creates too much dependence," the mother-of-two told the outlet.
"When I learned that humans historically breastfed far longer than we do today, it reframed the idea that extended breastfeeding is unusual," she continued. "It’s not biologically strange — it’s culturally unfamiliar."
Shinnai went on to add that her elder daughter does not breastfeed as often as the youngest, explaining that it's 'very minimal and very intentional'.
What are the benefits of breastfeeding?
According to Unicef, breastfeeding can provide numerous benefits to both the baby and mother. This includes strengthening the maternal bond and helping build up the baby's immune system.
Not all of Shinnai's followers disagree with her decision, with several comments highlighting that breastfeeding is completely natural. "Western society is crazy, imagine pushing mothers more and more away from biological norms," wrote one person, while a second penned: " honestly don’t understand why people are so bothered by breastfeeding.. it baffles me every day."
"Everyone else needs to mind their own business," added a third person.
Brenna Cooper