And while many people may be quick to slam Maha, she’ll be the first one to defend her decision and explain the bountiful benefits of breast milk for both mother and child.
For the most part, Aminah is just like other girls her age. The happy six-year-old plays hide-and-seek with her big brother Tariq, loves having her hair done for our exclusive Woman’s Day photo-shoot, and defiantly tells her mother when she’s had enough of the breast milk.
When asked what her mummy’s milk is like, Aminah replies with a six-year-old’s trademark honesty.
“Sometimes it tastes like candy canes,” she said. “It tastes like lots of different things.”
In fact, Aminah says she enjoys “sleeping and sucking” Mummy’s breasts so much she could see herself carrying on for a couple more years. “I might stop when I’m eight,” she decides, after a few moments’ contemplation.
“It’s my favourite thing to do when I’m not at school. More kids should, because it’s good for you,” Aminah recounted.
Maha was told she is one of the oldest women in the world still breastfeeding, and one of only a few perimenopausal women. But she says she’s simply responding to Aminah’s natural desire.
Now Maha is the star of a new Discovery Channel show, Extreme Breastfeeding. She’s proud of the way she parents Aminah, but admits that this particular decision prompted a nasty backlash online.
Still, the mum hopes attitudes will slowly change. She was thrilled that Facebook used her photo to announce it would allow breastfeeding advocacy images on the platform.
There’s so much more to this incredible story in the latest issue of Woman’s Day, on stands Monday May 25, and you won’t believe what Maha Al Musa’s new partner said when he first saw her breastfeeding her six-year-old child.
Our not-to-be-missed issue of Woman’s Day, is on sale Monday, May 25.
