Health visitors are now advising that babies are breastfed until 2 years old (in accordance with WHO guidance). I have a really mixed response to this.
🙌🏼 Great! Let’s normalize breastfeeding for as long as parents and babies are happy to do so and let them naturally wean when ready!
But also...
😬 Egh. So now pregnancy is going to be full of ‘when you have your baby you should breastfeed for 2 years!’ - whilst also failing to provide sufficient post-natal support with breastfeeding AND giving out breastfeeding unfriendly (and often inaccurate and out of date) information.
🤓 Breastfeed your baby for 2 years BUT....
🤚🏻 Stop breastfeeding if your baby’s not sleeping through the night by X months
🤚🏻 Only breastfeed your baby every 3 hours
🤚🏻 Introduce formula if your baby is not in a high enough centile
Etc etc
There’s no point giving such a high goal if you’re not going to a) give adequate post-natal support and b) change the narrative about NORMAL baby behaviour! It just sets parents up to feel like they’ve failed - and that’s really awful. On so many levels.
Breastfeeding is amazing. Often difficult, often bumpy, often beautiful, often amazing. So breastfeed for as long as you want to - or don’t want to. But it should be your informed choice. And you should be supported in that choice.
Rachel xxx
Photo credit: @birthphotogs on Instagram
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