The Qualms of Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is intimate and private. It gives a chance for mother and child to bond. It offers security and comfort to the child while providing essential nutrients that the baby needs to grow up big and strong.
The question is, if breastfeeding is so wonderful, why is there so much negativity toward it?
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, doctors suggest that woman breastfeed for the first six months of their baby's life. Although, most pediatricians advise that woman breastfeed as long as two years of life.
It is the personal choice of the parents and child who is being breastfed. If a mother chooses to breastfeed into toddlerhood it is her personal choice. That being said, there is a lot of disapproval from society when it comes to toddlers and breastfeeding.
Recently, a breastfeeding mother was kicked off a Delta airlines flight for not necessarily breastfeeding her child, but for not moving her sleeping 2.5 year old from her breast to her car seat fast enough for the flight attendant.

For anyone who has traveled with a toddler, they know that if that child is sleeping, you do your best to keep them that way when on an airplane or in a car. The mother had explained to the flight attendant that she was moving as fast as she could. When that wasn't enough, the flight attendant told the mother to gather her things and escorted her off the plane, leaving her stranded.
When the mother's partner called the airline to complain, the representative stated, "Why is a 2.5 year old breastfeeding, anyway?"
The answer, of course, is obvious:
That's none of your business.
Sadly, this is not an isolated incident. Not only for Delta, (there have been other times where flight attendants kicked breastfeeding moms off flight for indecently) but in society as a whole. There is general negativity when it comes to breastfeeding and moms. This is especially the case when breastfeeding in public.
People are apposed to mothers breastfeeding in public because they say that it violates the public nudity laws. This is 2014. Women walk around showing more skin than a breastfeeding mother and yet they aren't asked to cover up. Most mothers do cover while they are breastfeeding, even though the law does not require them to.
Nation wide, mothers have the right to breastfeed their child in public, i.e. parks, restaurants, schools, bus stops and where ever else mother feel the need without covering up.

This goes for toddlers, too. Most kids will call the shots. Even with their growing independence, some toddlers still need that closeness past the age of one. Not to mention the health benefits of "extended breastfeeding" such as protection from illness for mom and baby, brain boost, and comfort.
So, as long as it is working for both mother and child, go ahead and breastfeed past the age of one if you want to.
And for all the Negative Nancys that feel that they have the right to comment, that's not really your business, now is it?