Extraordinary Breastfeeding features three women at different stages of the breastfeeding cycle and questions why there is such a stigma attached to the amount of time women breastfeed their children.
In this challenging and revealing documentary we will witness the extremes, from one mother who stopped breastfeeding at six months to another who is still breastfeeding her seven year-old daughter.
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December 30, 2010 at 2:09 am | Julie
As a mother who did not breast feed due to lack of milk production I agree with breast feeding for as long as you and your child are comfortable regardless of what ppl say… its not easy I can imagine the older they get but its no ones business how you raise your child… this by any means is not harmful so keep it going
December 30, 2010 at 2:22 am | Nan
I might get blasted for this, but, regarding the 7 year old, I think this is just sick. Why is it OK to breastfeed a child past like, say, two years old? I mean, how many 7 year olds do you know who still take a bottle? I was not able to breastfeed, but I weaned my kids off the bottle at a year old. It’s called letting them mature. How many friends can a kid have if they’re still breastfeeding in 2nd grade? When does it end? College?
December 30, 2010 at 8:15 am | cold-beat-dallas
lol i want milk
December 30, 2010 at 10:09 am | justcheckin
still goin at7.bit much
December 30, 2010 at 11:10 pm | ShutUpLinda
I don’t see anything wrong with breast feeding a baby, but a seven year old? No man, that’s just nasty.
January 1, 2011 at 6:59 pm | Rb
Wow… these kids will sure fit into society well..
Seven years old?.. are you kidding me? what is wrong with these parents???
breast feeding in public is fine, but have some decency and consideration for everyone else.
Not everybody enjoys seeing your stretched out milk sacks.
January 23, 2011 at 3:02 pm | James
Pretty divided here the votes on this comment. If we were to do an unbiased poll on whether or not people find public breastfeeding acceptable I wonder what the outcome might be these days? Not everyone in society sees breastfeeding in public as a natural and beautiful thing. I’m pretty divided on the issue myself. I might see some negative feedback here I’m sure but just to propose the idea for discussion, breastfeeding is approved generally as natural, therefore ok in public and generally not contested as there seems to be a taboo to say anything otherwise. We all perform natural functions daily and therefore by the same token one could say farting, or burping in public could be considered acceptable. Seriously no offense is implied here. Just food for thought.
…We’ll baby food
August 5, 2011 at 1:55 pm | Jazzi_design
You cannot relate it to farting and burping. It’s EATING we are talking about. You eat in public… don’t you! Well, babies should be allowed to eat in public too. Because they don’t have teeth they cannot eat the food you eat, thats what breast milk is for. When the have ALL their teeth at about 2 years, then i agree it is strange to see an older child still nursing. But really, who in the world would think it abnormal to nurse a baby???!!!
January 3, 2011 at 1:46 am | Jack
I’m 28 years old but i still live with my mom and she still breast feeding me every day.
ps. I still a virgin too
January 3, 2011 at 8:57 pm | tito
i don’t have a problem with this apart from the 8 yr old! it’s just disgusting!
January 4, 2011 at 12:18 am | dude
Milk and cookies anyone?
January 11, 2011 at 9:48 pm | alexandria
I’m a big fan of breastfeeding as I think there are many health and emotional benefits to it. However breastfeeding a child after they reach school age is twisted and I believe emotionally unhealthy. I think this mother is using her children in a sick attempt at getting her own emotional needs met, much like mothers who sleep with their children way past the appropriate age for this.
January 27, 2011 at 2:17 pm | ms.holle
Sorry – I think it´s completely weird… And I hate it when a mother feeds her baby in a restaurant or a cafe…. It´s not necessary….
August 5, 2011 at 1:41 pm | Jazzi_design
get used to it, it’ll never stop
February 10, 2011 at 6:55 am | Linda
@ Ms. Hollie – It was no surprise to see this comment coming from a woman. You hate it when a woman feeds a child in a restaurant or a cafe do you now? But I bet you’re ok if she does it in a nasty disgusting bathroom where people piss and the smell of shit is everywhere. I also bet you don’t have children nor do you want any either. Good thing I say, because there is nothing wrong with feeding a child when it’s hungry no matter where you happen to be, except for in a nasty bathroom.
I despise woman like you, you are probably more worried your man will take peek at a full beautiful breast because he is starved looking at your flat fried eggs all the time.
I breast fed all my 4 children and I have a lovely set of breast, never once have I ever gotten a look from a man in a sexy way, men unlike many jealous woman understand and love to see the most natural thing in the world, they look at it as beauty and reverence not sexual. However I did get plenty of looks from the likes of women like yourself, with pure disgust and nervousness while their men were near so affraid he will get a peek of a real functioning breast.
Feeding a baby in a restaurant or cafe is as necessary as you eating there yourself you selfish wench.
February 11, 2011 at 12:45 am | Rachel
Wow…a bit defensive don’t you think? Also I always believe a woman when she sais she has hot knockers on the internet. I myself have breast the the size of basketballs and not a single stretch mark on them. LOL grow up Linda no where in ms.holle’s post did she say you shouldn’t be aloud to feed your goddamn little tit suckers. All she said was she hates when women do it in restaurants. I hate coffee but I won’t say you shouldn’t drink it. Chill the fuck out.
February 13, 2011 at 2:56 pm | Linda
@ Rachel Drinking coffee is completely off subject and not even in the same category of feeding a CHILD! I don’t need to be told to chill the fuck out! I’ve been there done that, seen this shit many times from woman, so I don’t need anyone telling me I’m exaggerating what’s being said.
It’s appalling to me to even think there are people who just can’t comprehend that its IMPORTANT AND NORMAL/NATURE to nurse your children. WTF it’s a baby being fed why the hell shouldn’t a woman feed a baby when it’s hungry even if it’s in a restaurant? That makes absolutely no sense to me its so against nature to think otherwise. It’s obvious to me that when a woman complains about it, its only to do with the possibility of seeing a breast OMG how retarded is that.
What can I say; some people are very ignorant when it comes to human nature vs. being proper.
March 28, 2011 at 3:55 am | Guest
If you have a kid, you shouldn’t be saying things like “OMG how retarded”. You exaggerated. It’s decency not to whip your tit out at in a public place. You want to feed your kid? Cool. But no one wants to watch you do it while you scream out how natural it is and how amazing your ta-tas are. They aren’t. That is obvious. No one’s arguing human nature. Just against seeing a 5 year old such your sagging tits while they eat.
May 19, 2011 at 8:27 pm | Alicia
For a grown adult, your response was extremely childish. Regardless of your feelings, it isn’t right for anyone, especially a grown, “mature” woman, to use the word “retarded” in such a derogatory sense, or to pick at another woman’s physical appearance.
“I despise woman like you, you are probably more worried your man will
take peek at a full beautiful breast because he is starved looking at
your flat fried eggs all the time.”
Way to go. You’ve contributed to the problem that society has created regarding self-image. Breasts come in all shapes and sizes, and you’re also jumping to some pretty extreme conclusions by saying that her man doesn’t like hers. You’re so in-favor of women doing what’s natural, but you’re not in favor of what other women’s bodies look like naturally?
Makes zero sense to me.
September 16, 2011 at 7:27 am | Dalirumi
you sound more like an angry, irrational, sensationalist wench than a rational mom.
February 10, 2011 at 8:06 pm | Darrell
All of my kids were breastfed, but all were weaned around the same time they would have been if they had been bottle fed. Mother’s who breast feed school age children have emotional needs that they’re using their child to fill. While not physically damaging outside of the high calorie content (more than french fries ounce for ounce), emotionally not a healthy thing to do.
April 17, 2011 at 1:43 am | guest
Society only disregards these mothers breast feeding in public as its uncommon to see. Take this for example; Kissing your partner in a public space (yes it really has nothing to do with babies and breast-feeding) makes a lot of people uneasy, awkward and so on, but would you really make such a fuss about it, to go to the extends of banning it, even though its just expressing love and affection? Humans wear clothes and therefore their private parts are covered, of course when someone pulls their top up in public the first thing you are going to think is (OMG?) but really, would you be saying that if you saw breasts constantly? A baby drinks from the breasts, an adult drinks from a cup? Not every action a women presents has to be classified as sexual or indecent. Men have breast as well, theirs are just undeveloped, yet they get to flaunt theirs around public when they please. And women, your partners are not thinking about fucking a women when they see them breastfeeding, they are more intrigued by the nurturing.
April 17, 2011 at 1:43 am | guest
Society only disregards these mothers breast feeding in public as its uncommon to see. Take this for example; Kissing your partner in a public space (yes it really has nothing to do with babies and breast-feeding) makes a lot of people uneasy, awkward and so on, but would you really make such a fuss about it, to go to the extends of banning it, even though its just expressing love and affection? Humans wear clothes and therefore their private parts are covered, of course when someone pulls their top up in public the first thing you are going to think is (OMG?) but really, would you be saying that if you saw breasts constantly? A baby drinks from the breasts, an adult drinks from a cup? Not every action a women presents has to be classified as sexual or indecent. Men have breast as well, theirs are just undeveloped, yet they get to flaunt theirs around public when they please. And women, your partners are not thinking about fucking a women when they see them breastfeeding, they are more intrigued by the nurturing.
May 5, 2011 at 8:47 am | Andi
I have yet to have any children, but when I do I plan to brestfeed them until they are at least a year old, and looking at studies I may not completely take them off breastmilk until two and a half to three years of age. A couple hundred years ago (and in many societies still today) children are breastfed until the ages of four and even six; and that is beautiful. While I am a little against a seven or eight year old feeding, if a mother wants to do it in the privacy of her own home she can go for it.
If my husband and I happen to be out and our baby is hungry I will certainly allow them to feed; God gave us breasts to feed our babies and men’s attraction to them stems from the subconcious knowledge that a larger breast size means that the woman is able to feed babies. Now, if I we decide to keep breastfeeding after the age of three or so I will probably cease to do it in public since a baby of that age has many other nutrition options available, but any younger and I will tell anyone with a problem to look the other way.
On another note, breast milk is extreemly beneficial to babies under a year old. Young babies do not have a very powerful ammune system of their own and mother’s milk can transfer some of her antibodies to the baby helping them to grow their own immune system. SO even if you are against breastfeeding in public use a breast pump and give the baby bottled form. Because healthy babies are happy babies!
August 7, 2011 at 9:24 pm | Ashley Sainz
Larger breast size doesn’t determine milk production. Just FYI.
August 7, 2011 at 9:24 pm | Ashley Sainz
Larger breast size doesn’t determine milk production. Just FYI.
May 5, 2011 at 9:21 am | Gary V
I want bitty, bitty now.
May 16, 2011 at 6:57 pm | Anonymous
What is the appropriate to stop breastfeeding? Is the women feeding the 8 year going to stop anytime soon?
August 5, 2011 at 1:38 pm | Jazzi_design
I believe you should stop breast feeding around the time they have all of their teeth , which is about 2 years. This is pretty logical to me.
June 5, 2011 at 4:04 am | doodiepants
I found no good medical data that states that extended breastfeeding
this late is good or bad. Regardless of whether this practice is
medically helpful or not, it’s a huge social oddity. These kids
will be ridiculed through the rest of their adolescence and despise the day that this documentary was made.
http://doodiepants.com/2009/08/01/mother-breast-feeds-7-year-old-girls-extraordinar/
June 5, 2011 at 4:04 am | doodiepants
I found no good medical data that states that extended breastfeeding
this late is good or bad. Regardless of whether this practice is
medically helpful or not, it’s a huge social oddity. These kids
will be ridiculed through the rest of their adolescence and despise the day that this documentary was made.
http://doodiepants.com/2009/08/01/mother-breast-feeds-7-year-old-girls-extraordinar/
June 26, 2011 at 4:59 pm | Cathryn
Honestly, As long as a child would be on a bottle, I do not see why breastfeeding in public should be any different than a bottle in the same situation. Both feed babies. Period.
Once a child hits that two and a half mark, where they can have more juices and are on a predominantly solid diet, please refrain from nursing in public since we all know that it can be a struggle and there’s a higher chance of showing (and spraying) everything.
I have two children, both of whom nursed IN PUBLIC as well as at home, but I (for my own comfort) would wear clothing designed to keep me covered while doing so.
September 1, 2011 at 6:29 am | Guest
Once you can walk to it and ask for it, your cut-off in my book! Wip-em-out or cover up, it’s your prerogative but it’s also everyone else’s to be weirded out when you flash your tits in the middle of K-Mart to feed you 7 year old. And for the record, I really don’t think men look at it in awe of the “mothering nature” or “beautiful show of womanhood” or even “gee, nice tits”, they look at it the same way almost all humans in our society do “wow, AWKWARD”… for better or worse that’s how modern society views it. I guess the more people are putting it out there the more normal it will become.
September 16, 2011 at 7:21 am | Dalirumi
they take shots of people just looking over, then pair those observational shots with people who have negative opinions about public breast-feeding. i would look at an exposed boob (first to se what is going on) and then a cute baby and linger longer to appreciate a mom-moment but i do not have a negative opinion of public feeding. this whole movie has an agenda to promote.
Also, the WHO recommendation of for two-years is primarily for countries that do not have medical resources AND financial resources OR crop resources to nourish babies. this movie does not consider that the moms interviewed are in one of the most wealthy nations in the world.
i want to support breast feeding. i want to support public breast feeding. I cannot support breast feeding a 7 year old. I do believe that limitations are what encourages maturity and emotional growth. the fact that breastfeeding has an impact and that this impact is completely ignored is disgusting from a documentary standpoint. i do expect my documentaries to be accurate, not propaganda.
September 16, 2011 at 7:23 am | Dalirumi
“zach has moved his sort of battle cry from ‘milk, milk, milk.’ to “hug, hug, hug.”
breastfeeding is an emotional attachment at a certain age, not a nutritional craving.
September 16, 2011 at 7:32 am | Dalirumi
“there is another way… letting your family grow out of breastfeeding NATURALLY.”
Wait, what is UNNATURAL about a parent establishing new parameters for a growing child?
September 16, 2011 at 7:34 am | Dalirumi
her “FAILURE” to breastfeed????
September 18, 2011 at 5:33 pm | Anna
Personally I dont have a problem if women breast feed in public as long as they are properly covered..
October 22, 2011 at 3:39 am | Linda_julia79
Its funny to read comments like Im a fan but kids x years old should be wean, or “I support breastfeeding..but the woman should be covered”…all these rules and notions about how to feed a baby coming from people who know close to nothing about nursing or whom the only experience is limited to what they encountered with their kids. It takes more than nursing one kid or googling about something to be rambling advice and passing judgement. Most of those “rules” westerners have about breastfeeding have little to do with breastfeeding and everything to do with the sexualization of breasts in our culture. Yes, breast can be sexual, but their primary biological function is to feed a child until he self weans….which is between 2.5 and 7 yrs based on some anthropological studies. The only reason the nursing in public debate is even possible is because of the invention of formula and bottles. Otherwise nobody would expect a mother not to feed her child in public. It would mean a mother would have to stay in her house for months, and that is just stupid. Is just as stupid as believing a human invention should be chosen over what was designed through thousands of years of evolution
October 22, 2011 at 1:14 pm | guest
The twins were not ready to wean. Otherwise it would have been a seamless transition. That was just so sad. She could have tried baby led weaning.
November 7, 2011 at 8:04 pm | Co
Wondering if I’m the only one who thought it was kind of “icky” that the husband was in the lineup for breast milk too.
December 12, 2011 at 5:13 am | Brucefrench
great documentary
December 25, 2011 at 8:35 pm | fifimsp
Sorry, but doesn’t a babies head cover the tit. I mean I’m allowed to wear one of these on a public beach http://www.the-bikini.com/galleries-teardrop/ but not breast feed. Get a grip people. God forbid we do the right thing by breast feeding but it’s ok to have a 14 year old girl with the word Juicy written across her ass.
January 10, 2012 at 12:49 pm | Kobayashi
How is it that the 2 year old twins seem to be more intelligent and less prone to tantrum than the 8 year old? I’ve never seen an 8 year old act so much like a toddler. “I don’t wanna be big, I want breast milk!” I can only imagine this comes from the weird parents and their over-coddling methods. They’ve probably ruined their children, socially.
March 11, 2012 at 6:46 pm | sarah mahoney
i think breast feeding should be stopped altogether, public or private. they should be bottle fed from the beginning. breast feeding is a disgusting and vile act.