Mom Defends Breastfeeding 7-Year-Old Son: 'I Am Only Doing What Is Natural'

Lisa Bridger knows what it’s like to be mom shamed. Back in June, she opened up to Kidspot about why she’s not ashamed to breastfeed her 7-year-old son, Chase, who has autism. Since then, she’s received a lot of criticism from parents. In response to the backlash, Bridger wrote an open letter to all “those of you who feel it is okay to bully a stranger.”

“To the adults who have commented that I am sick and need to get help, there is nothing mentally wrong with me. I am only doing what is natural,” the mom explains. “It’s not a sexual act. I’m not a paedophile, which is what quite a few have suggested.”

She also wants to make it clear that while her son has autism, that’s not why she’s continued nursing him. Regardless of that, she would have still breastfed him until he no longer requested it.

“My son is very independent, self-assured, none damaged. His friends and peers don’t tease as they have been educated in the fact that what he is doing is okay,” she explains.

“He doesn’t feed like a newborn. It’s occasionally mostly at nights for sleep, or occasionally to help reconnect after a meltdown—sometimes he chooses a hug other times he wants to be left alone.”

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding for at least the first year of baby’s life, nursing exclusively for the first six months of life and then feeding baby solid foods in addition to breast milk. There are no guidelines for when to stop—instead, the AAP encourages mothers to breastfeed for as long as she and her baby wish to.

Contrary to what many think, Bridger says she has a general plan for when she will officially stop breastfeeding her son.

“No, he won’t still be breastfeeding from me in his teens, 20s or 30s. Once their milk teeth drop and adult molars emerge, they lose their ability to latch—this is normal.”

She’ll likely follow the same suit with her 4-year-old son, Phoenix, who she’s also currently nursing. And for those who say she is doing this for herself, this is her rebuttal:

“I’m ready for him to wean whenever, as I have been for quite some time. I need to watch what I wear and what I eat—as [Chase] has a cow’s milk protein allergy, I can feel very touched out sometimes, it can be uncomfortable in the warm weather, I’m careful of medications…So no, it’s not for my benefit.”

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