The mother who still breastfeeds daughter at age f ive
...and claims it ‘stops her picking up germs in school’
A MOTHER who still breastfeeds her five-yearold daughter every day has claimed it that stopped her child from catching playground illnesses.
Emma Shardlow Hudson, 29, nurses her daughter Alex and son Ollie, two, in between other meals – and sometimes feeds both children at once.
The professional photographer, who lives in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, is convinced that her daughter has avoided many of the germs that are often rife in nursery schools because of the ‘goodness’ of her breastmilk.
The NHS recommends that all babies are exclusively breastfed until they are at least six months old. Statistics show that 73 per cent of new mothers choose to nurse from birth.
However, by the time a baby reaches their first birthday only one in every 200 are still being breastfed, research suggests.
Alex is in reception class at her school and her mother believes she is the only child there who is still being breastfed.
Mrs Hudson said: ‘It’s one of the biggest achievements of my life for sure, being able to nurture a child with my own body. It’s a completely selfless thing to do, but it’s probably the hardest thing I have ever done in my life too.
‘Before Alex was born, I wasn’t sure if it was a normal thing to breastfeed for so long.
‘But it wasn’t even a conscious decision to keep feeding for so long – I just thought why stop when it’s good for them? My attitude has changed over time.’
Mrs Hudson added: ‘When she started nursery there were quite a few bugs going around but she had nothing in comparison to her classmates.
‘My children are rarely ill, and I’m almost 100 per cent positive that that is because of the antibodies in the milk.
‘She’s always been a comforted baby and wants milk when she’s upset but I do think there’s a lot about the antibodies which is really good for her. It’s nice for me to be able to provide that for her.’
Mrs Hudson said that her husband Stuart, a chef, was ‘quite happy’ with the situation.
‘He can see it helps her,’ she said. ‘He’s not really got any massive opinion on it so long as everyone is happy … Obviously he knows the benefits of it. He’s really supportive of it.’
Mrs Hudson said that she often receives positive comments when she breastfeeds her children in public. But she revealed that it is the negative comments that stick in her memory – especially when some people have seen her breastfeeding Alex and mouthed the word ‘ugh’ towards at her. Such negative reactions have put some of her friends off breastfeeding anywhere but inside their own homes, she claimed.
‘Some people just tut and others actually go “ugh” and walk away,’ she said. ‘It’s not happened often, which is amazing.
‘I have friends who don’t breastfeed in public any more because they’re that scared, which is horrible.
‘It’s only happened three or four times [to me] in those five years but if someone is not as confident as I’ve become over time with it they would probably find it quite off-putting.
‘Apparently that old phrase “if you’ve got nothing nice to say don’t say anything at all” doesn’t apply to breastfeeding.’
The breastfeeding bond is something that Mrs Hudson has inherited from her own mother, who breastfed her children until each was two years old.
She said: ‘I don’t see breastfeeding as something to be embarrassed about. It completely equalises everyone because all women regardless of background can all do the same thing.
‘Lots of people stop breastfeeding at three months because they get recommended to stop, which I think is a shame.’
‘Some people walk away’