Ep. 9: Breastfeeding older babies & children, with Emma Pickett IBCLC

On the podcast this week I get to chat to Emma Pickett, a breastfeeding advocate whom I’ve admired for a long-time. Not only is Emma a breastfeeding counsellor and IBCLC, she’s also the Chair of the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers and author of the ‘The Breast Book: talking to young people about the when, why and how of breasts’.

I wanted to have Emma on as I’d heard she was writing her latest book, which is going to centre on breastfeeding beyond six months – what some might consider extended or long-term breastfeeding. It will be primarily aimed at healthcare professionals to improve their awareness and understanding of the benefits of breastfeeding past six months, but it will also be a helpful resource for parents too.

During the course of our chat, Emma sheds light on the realities of breastfeeding older babies and children, and the benefits that can be gained from it. She also explains what is meant by the term ‘natural-term breastfeeding’ and why in western societies we aren’t used to seeing or hearing people breastfeed older children.

We also have a frank discussion about the impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had on breastfeeding, and what happens when our breastfeeding choices are not supported by those around us.

Emma Pickett IBCLC: “There’s absolutely no reason why anyone should feel like they need to stop breastfeeding before they want to – it makes no scientific sense. Yet we continually get weird cultural messaging telling us to stop.”