The mother who still breastfeeds daughter... even though she’s FIVE
FOR Miira Dawson, breastfeeding her daughter Tara three times a day could not be more natural – even though Tara is five years old and at primary school.
The 36-year-old stay-at-home mother is also nursing her two-year-old son Ray Lee.
Mrs Dawson, a former biology researcher, claims that continuing to breastfeed Tara is boosting her intelligence and she would carry on until her daughter was ten if she could.
She even shares a bed with her two children so she can give them milk before they go to sleep at night and first thing in the morning, even though it means that husband Jim, 56, has to sleep in a separate bed.
Experts back her approach – saying there is no reason for her to stop passing on the nutritional and health benefits of her breast milk to her children.
And research suggests that babies breastfed longer tend to develop a higher IQ, although there has been little research into the benefits once a child is old enough to go to school.
Mrs Dawson, of Poole, Dorset, said: ‘Breastfeeding will allow them their full potential.
‘Mothers who breastfeed for an extended time feel that it has got really meaningful benefits for their children. It is a lovely thing for a baby to grow up and remember being breastfed, as not many people would be able to say this.
‘Plus there are all the health and IQ benefits – there’s research to show breastfed babies have higher IQs but whether that’s because people who breastfeed are more educated, I’m not sure.’
Mrs Dawson, who is originally from Finland, also feeds Tara when she comes home from school and gives her extra if she is feeling poorly or upset. ‘Tara’s never had a blanket or a dummy so this is her equivalent,’ she said.
‘Most people ask me when I am planning on stopping but I don’t have any pressure from my husband.
‘I don’t think other mums are bothered really. It’s none of their business but they may raise their eyebrows.’
Sharing her bed also benefits the children, she insists.
‘I’m in the middle with one either side. It’s fine. We go to bed and sleep, and have milk and get out when we wake up.
‘My children have never had to cry to sleep, or sleep on their own, or wake in the night and be afraid – because I’m there.
‘I think it’s unnatural for children to sleep on their own. They are not biologically suited.
‘Because Tara feeds until she falls asleep, it’s just the easiest way. There’s a lot of research saying breastfeeding and bedsharing protects them from sudden death syndrome.’
Mr Dawson, a wine merchant, admits to feeling left out and says his wife’s decision to continue breastfeeding the chil- dren has put a strain on their relationship.
‘I had little choice in the matter of encouraging Miira to breastfeed as there was never an alternative other than to support her,’ he said. ‘I don’t think we discussed it before Tara’s arrival and I definitely did not expect her to still be breastfeeding Tara at five years old.
‘Tara is an extremely bright girl and is very grown-up for her age. So for now I will continue to allow it.
‘In the beginning it was mainly due to the health benefits for the baby. It is madness to put all of the chemicals of fortified milk into a child when our bodies are created to feed naturally.’
Emma Pickett of the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers, said antibodies in breast milk protect children from bacteria and viruses.
‘If you look at all the other primates and how long they breastfeed, we are designed to breastfeed until six or seven – that it is when we lose our milk teeth,’ she said.
University of Cambridge sociologist Dr Maria Iacovou said: ‘It’s very rare to find someone who is still naturally feeding a child of this age.
‘But there is absolutely no evidence that there is anything wrong, so why should mothers stop if it works for them?’
‘My children never cry to sleep’