There are already several occasions in which breastfeeding from a mother to a child ends up assuming harm, not for health or development, but for the negative view of society towards prolonged breastfeeding.
If we met Habiba's case half a year ago, which was literally taken away from her daughter for breastfeeding, we now know the case of Begoña López and her four-year-old son Kosmo, who until now has been breastfeeding.
His parents are in the process of divorce and the solution, unfortunately, is in the hands of the judges. As always, when giving custody to one of the parents, or when making it shared, many issues are valued and apparently Kosmo's prolonged breastfeeding has become almost a monothem, in this case , making it one of the most important reasons for the judges to have decided to give full custody to the father, denying it to this Spanish mother who lives in Germany.
Surely at the moment you are thinking the same thing that I thought to know the news "deny custody for breastfeeding": we do not know what other issues are behind, I thought. It is true, Begoña comments in the video that there are many issues, and this is something evident, because when a couple separates and the solution has to come through a trial, the slightest discussion, the slightest decision in which the couple did not agree with respect to the child, comes up.
On these issues there is nothing to say, first because we do not know them and secondly because, as I say, thousands of similar issues will come out in all trials, however yes there is an unfair issue and it is to use prolonged breastfeeding as a weapon. I say unfair because when a father comes to a trial and says “Ah! Keep in mind that my wife is breastfeeding, and that she is already four years old ”, the judges should do the same thing that we do in the pediatrician's office, turn to the mother, tell her that this is very good, that it is a Free decision, not harmful and beneficial for the children and we congratulate you for it, then look back to the father and say: "next issue, please."
I remember in a breastfeeding day a grandmother who approached the professionals who were there to report that she asked us: "Isn't it true that breastfeeding a three-year-old child is bad?" "No ma'am, it's not bad," I replied. She insisted that good could not be and I insisted that bad could not be. Obviously, neither she convinced me, nor I convinced her, but one thing is that there is a negative opinion about something because it seems ugly or inappropriate (everyone is free to think positively or negatively about prolonged breastfeeding) and another thing is that in a trial, breastfeeding becomes an almost unique issue and a main reason to deny custody to a mother.
As the judges have ruled, what Begoña was doing with her son Kosmo is irresponsibility, because breastfeeding a child of this age causes the child's growth and evolution to be affected.
We have known for a long time that prolonged breastfeeding is not harmful for children at the developmental level, we know it because there are more and more children who breastfeed until they are four and older and we know it because it has been many years since the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) stated that breastfeeding a child of three or four years was rare, strange, unusual and that is why it tended to generate rejection or controversy, but that in no case was it something negative for the child, and we know that it does not affect the growth of children, because breast milk is milk, food, and it is impossible for a child who feeds to see their growth affected (Unless you have a disease that affects growth, it would affect you to drink the milk you drink).
For this reason Begoña asks for help for both her and her son. Help in the form of letters from fathers, mothers, grandparents, grandmothers, health professionals, etc., where the unique experience of prolonged breastfeeding is explained, where they talk about it naturally, showing that it is not something negative, it is not neglect is not a whim, but simply a way of relating to the child that only mother and child can have and one more way to give them the healthiest food there is. Breastfeeding is a private decision that should be part of the privacy and privacy of each mother and child and It is a subject that should never be used in a trial.
If you want to send letters of support to this mother, you can do so at the following address:
Begoña López Álvarez - Kosmo Hugo Krug López
Schwendy weg 6
13587 Berlin
Deutschland
You can also send them to your mail: [email protected], although they should be signed, accompanied by the ID number and, if possible, a photograph breastfeeding your child.
The fight is for Begoña and Kosmo, but it is also for all the people we try to report every day about how beneficial it is to breastfeed, breaking down myths, fighting prejudices and trying to breastfeed, and breastfeeding. prolonged, just be one more way to interact with your child and feed him. A right of each mother and each child.
