A mum of three has been cruelly trolled online for sharing videos of her breastfeeding her two-year-old son with people saying she should be locked up and is abusing him. Emma O'Donnell, 35, openly shows her breastfeeding journey with her youngest son Harry, two, and says she can't believe the backlash she has recently received.
The social media blogger has hit back at remarks in a video she posted after being told she has 'serious issues'. Emma said: "I can't believe how much this has blown up, my son is two and a half but people are saying I am assaulting him.
"It's funny because the video is talking about weaning and how I'm trying to stop breastfeeding, but apparently I should be locked up for doing something so natural and normal.
"It can be a mixed bag of responses, a lot of the time it's positive but this time it went completely the opposite way. It is such a shame because women's bodies are objectified so much, people have lost touch with what they are really for. We are made to feed and support our babies.
"There is a serious lack of communication, people think they should stop breastfeeding at six months, when in some cultures children are breastfed until they are seven. That's why children have milk teeth. Breastfeeding a two and a half year old is not wrong.
"However a lot of the time I get women coming and speaking to me about breastfeeding as they are judged for it and deterred for wanting to carry on breastfeeding. My videos give them the courage to know they're not alone and that's why I post about it."
Emma says breastfeeding gives her son a sense of security, and she will defend her choices, even when she thought she would stop at six months. She adds: "I only thought I would breastfeed for six months max and then get my body back, but after reading about it more and educating myself, I carried on.
"I also wouldn't judge other women for stopping early as it is a big commitment. I like feeding him, I like giving him that close feeling of security, it is a bonding time and he comes to me for comfort.
"Harry is also getting the best nutrition and all the right kinds of antibodies if he needs them. It also helps him sleep. He is getting all the comforts still that he would have as a newborn.
"People have lost themselves and what normal is. There is no perfect way to parent I just do what I think is right and some women don't want to breastfeed and that is fine as long as the baby and mum are happy and healthy."
