A woman’s breastfeeding journey is never a straight line, and the twists and turns are different for every mum. But the one thing that helps new mums navigate their own nursing path, is the wisdom of other mums.

Which is why Perth mum and doula Lauren McLeod is sharing her breastfeeding story, which includes the reasons why she wants to normalise ‘natural term breastfeeding’.

The mum-of-two calls herself a ‘badass breastfeeder’, as she details her long breastfeeding journey on social media. She’s currently breastfeeding her five-year-old son Bowie and two-year-old daughter Tigerlily.

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it a million times more, humans were biologically designed to wean from the breast between 2-7 years of age,” Lauren explains in one of her Instagram posts.

“That absolutely does not mean that anyone who weans before then or doesn’t breastfeed at all is doing anything wrong – you do you! Whatever works for each individual family is great. But what it DOES mean, is that those of us who do breastfeed our children past infancy and into the biologically normal weaning age range, are not doing anything wrong either.”

“I’ve been called a ‘sick nut’, I’ve been told I’m disgusting, weird, gross, selfish, abusing my children, the list goes on. But I honestly give zero fcks because I’m doing what’s best for my children, just like the parents who make different parenting choices are.”

Lauren says that while it may not be common to breastfeed a five-year-old in today’s society, it doesn’t mean there’s anything ‘weird’ or ‘gross’ about it. She says she’s simply feeding and comforting him – with Bowie breastfeeding once a day at bedtime.

“And if you’re also breastfeeding your 2 to 7 year old child/children, please know that you’re not alone – there are plenty more of us out there!”

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A post shared by Lauren McLeod ✨ Perth Doula (@the.lauren.mcleod)

Lauren says she hopes that by the time her children’s generation have children, natural term breastfeeding won’t be so taboo.

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.

(Images via: Myrtle & May Photography)