Breastfeeding Reality Show In The Works

Coming soon: breastfeeding reality show, centered on people who practice breastfeeding beyond infancy. The show, called Extreme Parenting, will feature a closeup investigation of breastfeeding beyond infancy, as well as a range of America’s weirdest parenting rituals.

The Daily Mail reports that the show is being created by the team behind shows Bridezillas and Dance Moms, and will pick up the debate for and against weaning children after they turn one.

The argument has made the rounds recently, ever since Jamie Lynn Grumet showed her four-year-old son breastfeeding on the cover of Time magazine, sparking a debate about when the best age to wean children is, as well as whether breastfeeding in public is okay.

Soda Head notes that the World Health Organization encourages moms to nurse their children until at least age 2, and most doctors recommend exclusively breastfeeding for the first six months, and then supplementing with food for at least the second months. Still, the idea of a woman breastfeeding a while who is older than two tends to creep people out, despite conflicting medical advice about when you are supposed to stop.

According to Soda Head, lactation consultant Karen McGratty, who still nurses her 3-year-old son, stated:

“Experienced pediatricians realize that the benefits of breastfeeding don’t just magically disappear after one year.”

Jessica Pielko with Care 2 notes that breastfeeding has fantastic health benefits for both mom and baby, but at the same time, she writes:

“But can the company responsible for the exploitative and maternally manipulative “Dance Moms” really present the idea of breast feeding beyond infancy in any way other than as some moralistically confused and sexually problematic trope? I doubt it.”

Would you be interested in watching a breastfeeding reality show?