Social media users horrified by mother, 61, who still breastfeeds her child in public: 'Strangers stare but I don't care'

Social media users person been outraged by the US parent who insists connected breastfeeding her 4 year-old girl successful nationalist — astatine the property of 61.

Barbara Higgins, a retired teacher from Concord, New Hampshire, gave commencement to helium lad Jack successful 2021, having conceived done IVF astatine the property of 57.

Other than other monitoring owed to her age, Ms Higgins described the gestation arsenic 'easy', with minimal complications.

The babe — her 3rd — was delivered after 3 hours of labour weighing 5 pounds, 13 ounces.

Now, she has revealed her unconventional feeding choice, which has sparked a heated statement among societal media commenters — immoderate of whom impeach her of 'traumatising' her child.

'Please don't enactment him done that,' urged 1 Facebook user, remarking connected an nonfiction astir Ms Higgins and her gestation travel that was shared to the platform.

'When helium goes to schoolhouse and the different kids find retired they volition beryllium disgusted...he won't recognize and he'll beryllium terribly upset,' said another.

One pistillate suggested the acquisition could permission the kid with semipermanent affectional scars: 'Poor kid volition beryllium traumatised remembering being astatine his mother's teat!' she wrote.

But Ms Higgins, who is joined to the begetter of her 3 children, 69 year-old Kenny, insisted feeding Jack this mode is 'the astir beauteous earthy happening successful the world'.

'I know that nine judges nursing mothers,' she told The Sun. 

'And erstwhile the parent is 61 arsenic the kid is four? That’s much raised eyebrows than usual.

'That could beryllium 1 of my much old-fashioned relatives asking erstwhile I'm going to stop, oregon the stares successful nationalist erstwhile Jack runs implicit and asks for "boop".

'But feeding Jack this mode is the astir beautiful, earthy happening successful the world. And I’ve learned not to attraction what different radical person to say.

'I americium truthful grateful to beryllium Jack’s mum, and thankful to my assemblage for bringing him into the satellite and allowing maine to provender him. 

'That’s what we person boobs for successful the archetypal place.'

While she chooses to caregiver astatine location 'most of the time', she is not acrophobic to breastfeed 'discreetly' successful public.

'I’ll beryllium connected a seat and successful a restaurant, I’ll provender him successful a booth. I’ve besides fed him connected a level without a 2nd thought,' she said.

 'Nursing means that we tin enslaved successful the astir unthinkable way. I cognize that I volition miss it erstwhile he’s acceptable to stop.'

There is nary authoritative proposal against breastfeeding children older than two, according to the NHS — arsenic agelong arsenic the child's fare besides includes coagulated foods.

In fact, 'you and your toddler tin proceed to bask the benefits of breastfeeding for arsenic agelong arsenic you privation to,' reads recommendations from NHS Wales.

The wellness work recommends breastfeeding exclusively for the archetypal six months of life, owed to grounds that the alleged 'natural elixir' tin support against puerility infections.

When Jack came into the satellite successful 2021, Ms Higgis became 1 of the oldest women successful the US to springiness commencement to a child. 

The thought to person different babe successful aboriginal beingness was initially borne retired of tragedy; the Higgins had lost their 13-year-old girl to encephalon crab 4 years previously.  

'I started having these dreams that I wanted to person a child, and I thought, "OK, Barb, that's a small crazy,"' she told NBC Boston, but her hubby supported her decision. 

She’d started the perimenopause successful 2016, truthful doctors prescribed hormone replacement therapy (HRT), which kickstarted her periods again. 

The archetypal circular of fertility treatment, successful September 2019, sadly failed.

But the mates tried again successful August 2020, and a fewer days aft her 57th birthday, Ms Higgins learned she was pregnant. 

Her gynaecologist antecedently said that helium cautiously monitored her gestation with other humor work, bureau visits, and ultrasounds.

The parents didn't archer anyone she was large until she was 20 weeks along, and erstwhile they did, they admitted they were met with soundlessness and shock.

Ms Higgins, who is simply a lifelong athlete, said her 3rd gestation was an casual one, crediting her progressive manner and bully genes.

'I bash a batch of value grooming and each that brainsick Crossfit worldly that you perceive about,' said the mum, who continued weightlifting until the time she gave birth.

The teacher pointed retired that determination is nary warrant immoderate genitor volition beryllium live to spot their kid turn up, careless of their age.

'Who knows however I'll beryllium successful 10 years, but who knows however he'll beryllium successful 10 years,' she said. 'That isn't thing that anyone tin predict.

'And wherefore should Jack not get to beryllium live conscionable due to the fact that I'm old.'

Medical experts accidental the champion clip for a pistillate to get large is betwixt her precocious 20s and aboriginal 30s, citing this play arsenic being the safest for some parent and child.

The bulk of women spot a important diminution successful their fertility successful their mid-thirties owed to a fig of factors.

After the property of 35, large mothers are besides astatine overmuch greater hazard of unsafe aesculapian conditions portion carrying their child, from gestational diabetes and precocious humor unit to preeclampsia and placenta previa.

Miscarriages and stillbirths are besides overmuch much communal aft the property of 35.

Babies that are conceived aboriginal successful a mother's beingness tin besides beryllium astatine greater hazard of processing conditions similar Down syndrome and different chromosomal problems.