Mom Defends Posting Video of 4-Year-Old Daughter Breastfeeding After Bullies Hit Hard

(Illustration - Shutterstock)

“People say to me that Poppy relies on me too much, but it is not about that,” said the mom of six whose viral video of herself breastfeeding her 4-year-old daughter shocked millions. “It’s our time, and it benefits her.”

Thirty-seven-year-old Leanne Allerton, from Grimsby in Lincolnshire, England, had to build up a thick skin to battle the critics, but she also has a loyal following. She speaks candidly on her YouTube channel and regularly posts videos about the ins and outs of family life.

One video, originally posted in 2017, featured the mom nursing her then-4-year-old daughter, Poppy; it amassed over 1 million views and got people talking in the process.

“I post breastfeeding videos when I feel like talking about things,” Leanne told the Daily Mail, “because there will always be someone out there who is going through the same thing.”

Leanne is a breastfeeding veteran and has been supported by her 32-year-old husband, Lee, a machine operative, since Day One. It has been a journey of ups and downs; the principled mom had to contend with pregnancy aversions and dry milk spells after her daughter Poppy was born, but continued feeding her son Georgie, now 7, for three additional years.

Leanne explained her decision. “He was still quite young and I didn’t want to say no,” she said. “But I got through all the hard stages and we got into a flow where it became effortless. I just knew it helped settle him and I didn’t want to take that away.”

According to the Mirror, after persevering with Georgie, the mom of six harbored feelings of guilt for not breastfeeding her older sons, Bobby (9) and Franki (11) for longer. “I knew when I was pregnant with Frankie that I wanted to have a go,” she said, “but I found it difficult understanding the patterns with babies and their development.”

However, by the time Poppy was born, Leanne had found her stride.

It was also right about that time that Leanne’s public videos garnered some negative attention. One viewer commented: “How do you expect your child to grow and prosper socially when they are still relying on your boobs for sustenance? This isn’t natural.”

“It’s sickening, honestly.”

Another added their perspective: “The child is being taught total dependency rather than to independently soothe and feel self-sufficient.” One viewer suggested “holding and cuddling” as a bonding alternative, adding, “I mean, imagine going to school and breastfeeding!”

The World Health Organization recommends that all babies be exclusively breastfed for six months. Then, they suggest, the baby should be gradually introduced to “appropriate family foods” while continuing to breastfeed for two years or beyond. “Stopping breastfeeding is called weaning,” says Better Health. “It is up to you and your baby to decide when the time is right.”

For Leanne, it’s imperative that she be able to explain to her child what is happening when they sever the breastfeeding tie. “With Georgie I just spoke with him, explaining he was becoming a big boy and it was time for him to stop,” she told the Daily Mail. “I do think it should be limited to bedtime toward the end.”

“Now, when Poppy often asks for ’titu‘ I say ’wait until bed-time,'” Leanne explained, “and she is normally fine with that.”

The mom of six discredited the idea that breastfed kids are less independent than their peers and claimed that from her experience as a mother, “it helps settle kids down.”

“I will miss it when Poppy and I completely stop,” Leanne admitted. “The oxytocin chemical that releases while you are breastfeeding does make you happy, and there will be a change in my mood when that stops. But it has also been a massive part of our lives,” she continued, “and when they stop it is another part of your babies growing up.”

Leanne captures the glory and giggles of daily life on her YouTube channel, Umbumgo Family Vlogs, and she still stands by her parenting principles. “It has been just over eight years that I have been breastfeeding,” she calculated.

“I am quite proud of myself.”