If breast-feeding were a celebrity, 2012 might be the year its career started resembling that of a Kardashian rather than Streep.
A new reality television show is in the works about mothers who breast-feed children past 12 months—the age at which government agencies stop tracking mothers' feeding habits—according to a report in the New York Post. The new show, which is being produced by Collins Avenue (the same producers who brought you Dance Moms and American Stuffers), was apparently prompted by May's controversial Time magazine article that interviewed mothers who breast-feed children over the age of 3.
"Experienced pediatricians realize that the benefits of breast-feeding don't just magically disappear after one year," lactation consultant Karen McGratty, who is currently breast-feeding her 3-year-old son, told the Post in reaction to hearing about the show. Breast-feeding mom Jessica Cary of Brooklyn added: "I didn't set out to nurse a 3-year-old … but two years came and went. Now breast-feeding and mothering are so intertwined for me," she said.
RELATED: Read More Breast-Feeding Stories
According to the CDC, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) currently recommends that moms breast-feed for at least 12 months, and "thereafter for as long as mother and baby desire." The World Health Organization recommends breast-feeding up to 2 years old and beyond.
Since the controversial Time cover hit the newsstands, moms have been vocal about how breast-feeding older children was portrayed by the magazine. Actress Mayim Bialik, who wrote a book about attachment parenting, has been a fierce defendant of it. Bialik has said: "I breast-feed my 3-year-old because he's not done breast-feeding, and I'm not ready to tell him not to. … [I]t is still a tremendous source of discipline, and of bonding, that occurs between a mother and a child." Other famous moms, such as Alyssa Milano, are not so into the idea. "You missed the mark! You're supposed to be making it easier for breast-feeding moms. Your cover is exploitive and extreme," Milano said.
