Yakaly Di Roma, 31, from Wales, continues to breastfeed her four-year-old son, Hans, alongside her newborn son, River. Yakaly found a way to advocate for late breastfeeding through a sequence of incredible photos in which she appears in different scenarios breastfeeding her two children. The mother explained that breastfeeding is comforting to Hans, who has autism and that breastfeeding has fostered an even closer relationship between them.
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Yakaly said:
Breastfeeding for me is so special. We have created an unbreakable bond and this moment is ours alone. It is the most natural thing in the world, it should be normalised, celebrated even. It's not easy, it's actually very difficult, it's exhausting and it can be painful, but it's worth it.
Mothers can continue breastfeeding past first 6 months
Experts recommend that children be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of their lives. After that, mothers can continue to give breast milk to the baby alongside other fluids and gradually introduced foods. This will help the baby to grow and develop healthily. Hans, a four-year-old, has a normal, balanced diet but alsobreastfeeds twice a day, once before school and once before bed.
Backlash
While Yakaly is backed by her husband, Christian O'Reilly, she is heavily criticised by strangers when she posts breastfeeding pictures.
I was called a paedophile for breastfeeding my son, I've also been told I do child porn photography because breastfeeding a child of my son's age is ‘disgusting’ and ‘disturbing...' Most people are cool; others find it uncomfortable and I hear a lot of nasty things, but luckily most people are very comfortable with it.
Yakaly said she has no plans to stop breastfeeding her eldest son at the moment and plans to breastfeed the newborn until he is at least one or two years old.
