'I still breastfeed my six-year-old daughter': One mother's story

Mother-of-two Denise Sumpter will breastfeed her daughter Belle when she's tired, ill or needs comforting.

But Belle is a little older than the World Health Organisation's guideline of up to two years.

At almost seven, Belle is still feeding with her mother's milk up to twice a day - sometimes at the same time as her 18-month-old brother Beau.

Despite criticism that she may be damaging Belle's emotional development, and claims that by the age of six breast milk has very little by way of health benefits, Denise, 44, says she believes she is acting in Belle's best interests by giving her the most nutritious source of food she can provide.

Speaking on ITV's This Morning, she said she had trouble 'expressing' her milk, which meant she did not have the choice to give her children glasses of her own breast milk instead of continuing to feed them directly.

And she said she has had the support of a number of other women who had chosen to continue breastfeeding into early childhood.

She said she would continue to breastfeed for as long as Belle wanted to - and would only stop when they stopped asking.

Responding to criticism that she is taking away her child's independence, she said it was a parent's responsibility to be there for their children as long as they need them.

But former midwife and breastfeeding specialist Clare Byam-Cook said breastfeeding was not necessary for six-year-olds, and only had negligible health benefits.