Social media users horrified by mother, 61, who still breastfeeds her child in public: 'Strangers stare but I don't care'
Social media users have been outraged by the US mother who insists on breastfeeding her four year-old daughter in public — at the age of 61.
Barbara Higgins, a retired teacher from Concord, New Hampshire, gave birth to he son Jack in 2021, having conceived through IVF at the age of 57.
Other than extra monitoring due to her age, Ms Higgins described the pregnancy as 'easy', with minimal complications.
The baby — her third — was delivered after three hours of labour weighing 5 pounds, 13 ounces.
Now, she has revealed her unconventional feeding choice, which has sparked a heated debate among social media commenters — some of whom accuse her of 'traumatising' her child.
'Please don't put him through that,' urged one Facebook user, remarking on an article about Ms Higgins and her pregnancy journey that was shared to the platform.
'When he goes to school and the other kids find out they will be disgusted...he won't understand and he'll be terribly upset,' said another.
One woman suggested the experience could leave the child with long-term emotional scars: 'Poor kid will be traumatised remembering being at his mother's teat!' she wrote.
Healthy: Barbara Higgins gave birth to Jack in 2021 after three hours of labour
Ms Higgins and her husband Kenny also have a daughter, Grace. The family is pictured before the death of her youngest daughter, Molly.
But Ms Higgins, who is married to the father of her three children, 69 year-old Kenny, insisted feeding Jack this way is 'the most beautiful natural thing in the world'.
'I know that society judges nursing mothers,' she told The Sun.
'And when the mother is 61 as the child is four? That’s more raised eyebrows than usual.
'That could be one of my more old-fashioned relatives asking when I'm going to stop, or the stares in public when Jack runs over and asks for "boop".
'But feeding Jack this way is the most beautiful, natural thing in the world. And I’ve learned not to care what other people have to say.
'I am so grateful to be Jack’s mum, and thankful to my body for bringing him into the world and allowing me to feed him.
'That’s what we have boobs for in the first place.'
While she chooses to nurse at home 'most of the time', she is not afraid to breastfeed 'discreetly' in public.
'I’ll be on a bench and in a restaurant, I’ll feed him in a booth. I’ve also fed him on a plane without a second thought,' she said.
The 57-year-old teacher said her labour was 'relatively easy', despite being post-menopausal
Barbara and Kenny appeared on the Today show in the US with their baby boy back in 2021
'Nursing means that we can bond in the most incredible way. I know that I will miss it when he’s ready to stop.'
There is no official advice against breastfeeding children older than two, according to the NHS — as long as the child's diet also includes solid foods.
In fact, 'you and your toddler can continue to enjoy the benefits of breastfeeding for as long as you want to,' reads recommendations from NHS Wales.
The health service recommends breastfeeding exclusively for the first six months of life, due to evidence that the so-called 'natural elixir' can protect against childhood infections.
When Jack came into the world in 2021, Ms Higgis became one of the oldest women in the US to give birth to a child.
The idea to have another baby in later life was initially borne out of tragedy; the Higgins had lost their 13-year-old daughter to brain cancer four years previously.
'I started having these dreams that I wanted to have a child, and I thought, "OK, Barb, that's a little crazy,"' she told NBC Boston, but her husband supported her decision.
She’d started the perimenopause in 2016, so doctors prescribed hormone replacement therapy (HRT), which kickstarted her periods again.
The first round of fertility treatment, in September 2019, sadly failed.
But the couple tried again in August 2020, and a few days after her 57th birthday, Ms Higgins learned she was pregnant.
Her gynaecologist previously said that he carefully monitored her pregnancy with extra blood work, office visits, and ultrasounds.
The parents didn't tell anyone she was pregnant until she was 20 weeks along, and when they did, they admitted they were met with silence and shock.
Indian woman, Jivunben Rabari, claimed to be 70 and one of the eldest new mothers in the world, welcoming her first baby in June last year
Ms Higgins, who is a lifelong athlete, said her third pregnancy was an easy one, crediting her active lifestyle and good genes.
'I do a lot of weight training and all that crazy Crossfit stuff that you hear about,' said the mum, who continued weightlifting until the day she gave birth.
The teacher pointed out that there is no guarantee any parent will be alive to see their child grow up, regardless of their age.
'Who knows how I'll be in 10 years, but who knows how he'll be in 10 years,' she said. 'That isn't something that anyone can predict.
'And why should Jack not get to be alive just because I'm old.'
Medical experts say the best time for a woman to get pregnant is between her late 20s and early 30s, citing this period as being the safest for both mother and child.
The majority of women see a significant decline in their fertility in their mid-thirties due to a number of factors.
After the age of 35, pregnant mothers are also at much greater risk of dangerous medical conditions while carrying their child, from gestational diabetes and high blood pressure to preeclampsia and placenta previa.
Miscarriages and stillbirths are also much more common after the age of 35.
Babies that are conceived later in a mother's life can also be at greater risk of developing conditions like Down syndrome and other chromosomal problems.
