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Exploring the Experiences and Challenges of Breastfeeding Beyond 2 Years in the United Kingdom: A Qualitative Study

Joelle Morgan, Sara Jones Orcid Logo, Amy Brown Orcid Logo

Maternal & Child Nutrition

Swansea University Authors: Sara Jones Orcid Logo, Amy Brown Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1111/mcn.70072

Abstract

The World Health Organization recommend that babies are breastfed up to 2 years old and beyond. Breastfeeding beyond infancy continues to provide physical and mental health benefits for mothers and supports nutrition, immunity and development for children. However, there is a dearth of research expl...

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Published in: Maternal & Child Nutrition
ISSN: 1740-8695 1740-8709
Published: Wiley 2025
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa69906
first_indexed 2025-07-07T10:36:11Z
last_indexed 2025-09-19T14:46:08Z
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spelling 2025-09-18T12:55:32.3320669 v2 69906 2025-07-07 Exploring the Experiences and Challenges of Breastfeeding Beyond 2 Years in the United Kingdom: A Qualitative Study e6ed433db8a59b5e3077e3de5888a98a 0000-0003-2182-6314 Sara Jones Sara Jones true false 37aea6965461cb0510473d109411a0c3 0000-0002-0438-0157 Amy Brown Amy Brown true false 2025-07-07 HSOC The World Health Organization recommend that babies are breastfed up to 2 years old and beyond. Breastfeeding beyond infancy continues to provide physical and mental health benefits for mothers and supports nutrition, immunity and development for children. However, there is a dearth of research exploring the experiences of women who breastfeed beyond 2 years, particularly in countries such as the United Kingdom, where only a small percentage of mothers breastfeed past 1 year. This qualitative study explored the experiences of 12 women in the United Kingdom who breastfed or were breastfeeding a child over 2 years old. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed using thematic analysis, identifying the benefits and challenges of their experiences. Breastfeeding was central to women's parenting style and nurturing of their child, and its impact extended far beyond nutrition. Breastfeeding helped with bonding and soothing and was viewed as central to a gentle parenting philosophy. However, women reported facing barriers such as stigma, especially around breastfeeding an older child in public, disapproval from family and friends, and poor information from healthcare professionals. Despite these challenges, mothers reported a desire to set an example to others and to normalise breastfeeding an older child. When trying to stop breastfeeding, there was a conflict between mothers wanting to be led by their child and a desire to regain their bodily autonomy. These findings reiterate the importance of supporting women to breastfeed for as long as they want to and ensuring that breastfeeding support encompasses infants and children of all ages. Journal Article Maternal &amp; Child Nutrition 0 Wiley 1740-8695 1740-8709 breastfeeding; extended breastfeeding; infant feeding; motherhood; qualitative research 11 9 2025 2025-09-11 10.1111/mcn.70072 COLLEGE NANME Health and Social Care School COLLEGE CODE HSOC Swansea University SU Library paid the OA fee (TA Institutional Deal) Swansea University 2025-09-18T12:55:32.3320669 2025-07-07T11:29:18.6079277 Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences School of Health and Social Care - Public Health Joelle Morgan 1 Sara Jones 0000-0003-2182-6314 2 Amy Brown 0000-0002-0438-0157 3 69906__35030__85a42a03fb614839b130c57ab8ff3e59.pdf 69906.VoR.pdf 2025-09-04T12:53:42.9464320 Output 332414 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title Exploring the Experiences and Challenges of Breastfeeding Beyond 2 Years in the United Kingdom: A Qualitative Study
spellingShingle Exploring the Experiences and Challenges of Breastfeeding Beyond 2 Years in the United Kingdom: A Qualitative Study
Sara Jones
Amy Brown
title_short Exploring the Experiences and Challenges of Breastfeeding Beyond 2 Years in the United Kingdom: A Qualitative Study
title_full Exploring the Experiences and Challenges of Breastfeeding Beyond 2 Years in the United Kingdom: A Qualitative Study
title_fullStr Exploring the Experiences and Challenges of Breastfeeding Beyond 2 Years in the United Kingdom: A Qualitative Study
title_full_unstemmed Exploring the Experiences and Challenges of Breastfeeding Beyond 2 Years in the United Kingdom: A Qualitative Study
title_sort Exploring the Experiences and Challenges of Breastfeeding Beyond 2 Years in the United Kingdom: A Qualitative Study
author_id_str_mv e6ed433db8a59b5e3077e3de5888a98a
37aea6965461cb0510473d109411a0c3
author_id_fullname_str_mv e6ed433db8a59b5e3077e3de5888a98a_***_Sara Jones
37aea6965461cb0510473d109411a0c3_***_Amy Brown
author Sara Jones
Amy Brown
author2 Joelle Morgan
Sara Jones
Amy Brown
format Journal article
container_title Maternal &amp; Child Nutrition
container_volume 0
publishDate 2025
institution Swansea University
issn 1740-8695
1740-8709
doi_str_mv 10.1111/mcn.70072
publisher Wiley
college_str Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
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hierarchy_top_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
department_str School of Health and Social Care - Public Health{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Health and Social Care - Public Health
document_store_str 1
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description The World Health Organization recommend that babies are breastfed up to 2 years old and beyond. Breastfeeding beyond infancy continues to provide physical and mental health benefits for mothers and supports nutrition, immunity and development for children. However, there is a dearth of research exploring the experiences of women who breastfeed beyond 2 years, particularly in countries such as the United Kingdom, where only a small percentage of mothers breastfeed past 1 year. This qualitative study explored the experiences of 12 women in the United Kingdom who breastfed or were breastfeeding a child over 2 years old. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed using thematic analysis, identifying the benefits and challenges of their experiences. Breastfeeding was central to women's parenting style and nurturing of their child, and its impact extended far beyond nutrition. Breastfeeding helped with bonding and soothing and was viewed as central to a gentle parenting philosophy. However, women reported facing barriers such as stigma, especially around breastfeeding an older child in public, disapproval from family and friends, and poor information from healthcare professionals. Despite these challenges, mothers reported a desire to set an example to others and to normalise breastfeeding an older child. When trying to stop breastfeeding, there was a conflict between mothers wanting to be led by their child and a desire to regain their bodily autonomy. These findings reiterate the importance of supporting women to breastfeed for as long as they want to and ensuring that breastfeeding support encompasses infants and children of all ages.
published_date 2025-09-11T12:33:36Z
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