A mum-of-two is hoping to normalise extended breastfeeding through a photo series capturing mothers nursing their toddlers.
Natalie McCain, from the US, said the more people talk about breastfeeding toddlers, the more it will become the norm.
“It is such a taboo subject that many mothers are shamed for,” she told The Huffington Post UK. “I want to help to normalise it around the world.
“In so many places people wouldn’t bat an eye at a mother nursing her toddler, but in the US, you are put down and made to believe you are doing something wrong.”
which McCain believes the more we work to normalise breastfeeding for future generations, the better. She nursed both of her children throughout their toddler years.
“The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding for two or more years, whenever the mother or child wants to stop,” McCain added.
“Breastfeeding beyond infancy is a very natural continuation of what you have done since birth.
“My hope is that more eyes will be opened from reading their stories and seeing their portraits.”
McCain photographed the women in the series as part of her “The Honest Body Project”, which involves black and white unretouched portraits.
She allowed the mums to share their own thoughts and stories about their breastfeeding journeys, available in her book ‘The Honest Body Project: Raw, Untouched Portraits of What It Means to Be a Woman’, which will be published in August 2017.