Mother addresses critics after revealing she’s breastfeeding daughter until she’s six: ‘A child is eating’

A mother who plans on breastfeeding her child until she’s six has addressed some of her critics on social media.

Jacy Campbell, a 20-year-old certified lactation consultant, frequently shares videos of her one-year-old daughter, Emmy, on TikTok. In a clip posted on 4 January, Campbell revealed that she intends to breastfeed Emmy until she is six years old.

The video has received more than 1.9m views, so far, with some TikTok users supporting Campbell for her breastfeeding plan.

“Girl you do you!!” one said. “Thats amazing if you can make it to six... my babe lasted till four.”

“My mom did with my little brother until he self-weaned,” another wrote. “He was four”

However, there were many comments from viewers who didn’t agree with Campbell’s parenting decision, with one person writing: “At that point it’s more for the mom than the kid,” while a different TikTok user said: “Okay but in that age they start school and stuff I fully support extended breastfeeding but this is to much.”

“That’s actually disgusting that’s school age and I’m pretty sure they can call CPS (child protective services) for that lol,” someone else claimed.

Campbell has since shared her responses to these comments, including one of which said: “Your child will fully resent you for it in the future. At that point it becomes a form of sexual assault.”

“Extended breastfeeding is not sexual assault, there’s nothing sexual about the child eating,” Campbell replied in a video posted on 8 January. “Just because you sexualise breasts doesn’t mean a child does.”

“A child is eating,” she added. “They use you for nourishment.”

She also emphasised in the comments that there are a “plethora of health benefits” for mothers and babies that come from breastfeeding, but that she didn’t “feel the need to justify it” based on this “rude comment.”

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), it is recommended that babies are breastfed exclusively until they are six months old and then continue to breastfeed ‘up to two years and beyond’ as well as eating solid food. However, doctors have previously noted that this timeline doesn’t apply to all babies and mothers, as the choice is one that should be up to the mother, who can ultimately breastfeed for as long as they want.

“The vast majority of my moms breastfeed between six months of a year because this is when they start to add those solid foods which offer that nutrition,” paediatrician Natasha Burget told Insider in 2018. “So really after six months, [there are] mothers who like breastfeeding and want to keep going do so, and the others start to pull back.”

As noted by the Cleveland Clinic, breastfeeding offers many “physical and mental benefits” for the mother and child. For babies, these benefits include “stronger immune systems,” “fewer colds and respiratory illness,” and “fewer ear infections.”

Speaking to The Independent about the parenting decision, Campbell said, if her daughter self-weans earlier than age six, she will “continue to pump and give it to her in a sippy cup”.

“If my daughter wants to go beyond six years I will not stop her. Breastmilk has the perfect ratio of fats to proteins that your baby needs to thrive,” she added.

She also addresed some of the negative comments she’s received on social media, including one from the TikTok user who accused Campbell of assaulting her child, with Campbell revealing that she and the TikTok user ended up having a conversation.

“She completely changed her mind and now supports my decision,” Campbell claimed. “She was simply uneducated on the topic and didn’t do any sort of research before commenting that ignorant comment and has since apologised to me. There is not anything sexual about feeding your child. Breasts are hyper-sexualised for no reason when their sole purpose is to nourish our children.”

This article was amended on 1 February 2022. It previously stated that the WHO recommended breastfeeding children up to six months of age, however WHO guidance is actually that babies are breastfed exclusively until they are six months old and then continue to be breastfed ‘up to two years and beyond’ in addition to eating solid food.