In fact, there were many times in the early days when she nearly stopped altogether.

But as time went on, she found it easier and easier to feed her daughter. She now will not stop until her daughter is ready.

"If anyone had told me at week two when I wanted to give up that I would still be breastfeeding a four-and-a-half year old I'd have
said they were nuts," says Annalisa.

She admits that continuing to breastfeed her daughter way beyond what many would consider normal is easier for her and her daughter.

"Breastfeeding post six months just gets so easy. It's
a bit like a pension, you've paid all your dues, it's payback time."

If the thought of breastfeeding a walking, talking child fills you with horror you are not alone.

It is for this reason that Annalisa and mothers like her normally choose to breastfeed in private.

The Guardian and New Statesman columnist is one half of a partnership who have launched a new community support group Breastfeeding Beyond Babyhood in Halifax, backed by Yorkshire model Nell McAndrew, who is still feeding son Devon at 20 months.

Co-founder Charlotte Young says the group and associated website iwantmymum.com is in response to the lack if objective information available to mums.

"Our position is not to tell anyone what to do, it's about supporting mums to make informed choices. We make them aware of the recommendations from WHO, UNICEF and the Department of Health, which are to feed for a minimum of two years, and the risks of weaning too early. Thereafter, as long as it is mutually desirable they can continue as long as they want. We are very non-judgmental.

"It is something people just don't talk about. I run baby sign classes and one 18- month-old was desperate to feed. She had been trying to put it off, but at the end of the class baby was insistent. Three mums came over to her and said they didn't realise anyone else was still breastfeeding at that age. That is why we decided to set up the social group."

Charlotte had a daughter of two-and-a-half when she became pregnant with Joshua. Naomi self-weaned while Charlotte was pregnant. Milk supply can fluctuate when you are expecting. Joshua is now 20 months and Charlotte hopes that he too will self-wean, but she and he are in no hurry.

Charlotte, a former company MD, says there is a lack of information about the health benefits of extended breastfeeding and believes that her four-year-old is more healthy as a result.

But child psychologist Dr Elizabeth Mapstone is unconvinced – in fact, she fears that breastfeeding beyond 18 months could have a detrimental effect on the child's development.

"It's a very pleasant experience for both mother and child. It's a very close bonding relationship, but a child does have to be weaned from the mother – that's what weaning means.

"Although a lot of children may well want to breastfeed, it is not helping the child grow up and become independent. Some women find that very difficult, but at the end of the day it is a parent's responsibility to help a child grow up and become independent."

She says breastfeeding beyond 18 months is self-indulgence on the mother's part.

For both Charlotte's children, breastfeeding has been more than just sustenance. "It's a pain reliever, a comforter and a quick fix," says Charlotte, who is also a trained breastfeeding counsellor.

But Dr Mapstone believes there are more age-appropriate ways of comforting a child.

Leeds supermodel Nell McAndrew is convinced she is doing the right thing for her son and has given her full backing to Breastfeeding Beyond Babyhood.

"Feeding Devon has been such a positive and rewarding experience that I wanted to support more mums in getting the help and information they need.

"Iwantmymum.com provides this along with qualified breastfeeding counsellors.

"Devon is a toddler now and I think it's wonderful to know the antibodies and other special ingredients in my milk help make him better if he's unwell, while reducing my own risk of breast cancer."

Both Charlotte and Annalisa understand why many find the idea of breastfeeding a toddler repellent and more for the mother's benefit than the child's. "I can remember thinking the same thing myself," says Charlotte.

"I remember feeding Naomi at five months and had a friend who was still feeding her two-year-old. I thought that was ridiculous. I felt it was for her own benefit. But then when it came to it, I could find no good reason to stop."


'If anyone had told me I'd still be breastfeeding, I'd have said they were nuts'

Annalisa Barbieri, a Guardian columnist and co-founder of
iwantmymum.com, explains why she still breast feeds her four-year-old daughter.

I had never heard of such a thing as extended breast feeding really. I thought you breastfed for six months or so – that's what my mother did with me. It was only when I had my own child and started looking into it that I found out so much and also found out that my grandmother had breastfed all her children until she got pregnant with the next one.

If anyone had told me at week two (when I wanted to give up) that I would still be breastfeeding a four-and-a half-year-old I'd have said they were nuts. I had problems with latch – none of the midwives spotted that my baby curled her bottom lip in whilst she fed, a La Leche League leader spotted it in 10 seconds when my child was 10 weeks old. So it was hideously and horribly painful, but it shouldn't have been. I mix fed to begin with (not recommended, we got into a right mess), stopped breastfeeding for a bit, and finally relactated and got back to exclusive breastfeeding.

My family and friends are all supportive but have at times been curious – if it's not something you've done yourself, you have questions such as "what about when teeth come along?" and "when will you stop?" My family has been enormously supportive. All my family and friends breastfed, one of my closest friends until her child was three. I haven't fed my daughter in public since she was two. I don't feel comfortable doing it. Up till then, I'd never had any negative comments and I haven't now.

I think breastfeeding is really helpful if you have a busy working life. I never had to take a day off work because my child was sick until she was four, when she started to naturally wean and cut down her feeds. Breastfeeding post six months just gets so easy. It's a bit like a pension, you've paid all your dues, it's payback time. I plan to breastfeed her until she self weans; but
we are trying for another
baby so if I get pregnant she may wean then (as milk supply can drop).

I'm lazy and it makes my life easier, it's a quick fix when she's tired or hungry and we're out and caught short (in which case I feed her discreetly). Health wise, it benefits us both enormously. She also goes off to sleep within seconds if she's tired and I put her on.

I think it's natural to be curious about it – I was. The me of then would have thought the me of now was a freak, but it's amazing what a bit of education can do.


Everything your baby needs

Breast milk gives babies all the nutrients they need for the first six months of life and helps protect them
from infection.

Breastfeeding helps protect your baby against: ear infections, gastro-intestinal infections, chest infections, urine infections childhood diabetes, eczema, obesity, asthma. It also helps protect mothers against ovarian cancer, breast cancer and weak bones later in life.

British breastfeeding rates are amongst the lowest in Europe. At birth only 69 per cent of British babies are breastfed and only 21 per cent of babies are still receiving breast milk at the age of six months. UNICEF and the World Health Organisation recommend infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months and that breastfeeding should contribute an important
part of a baby's diet through the second year and beyond. They state:

Breast milk has all the nutrients babies need to stay healthy and grow.

Breastfeeding boosts children's immune systems, protecting them from diarrhoea, acute respiratory infection, ear infections
and allergies.

Breastfed babies have faster mental and motor-skills development.

Breastfeeding helps nurture children and builds the mother-child bond.

Breastfeeding helps delay the next pregnancy, giving mother and child
time to recover and grow.

Children and adults who were breastfed as babies are less likely to
suffer from diabetes, allergies, high blood pressure and other risk factors for heart disease.

For more information on breastfeeding: National Breastfeeding Helpline 0844 20 909 20; La Leche League 0845 120 2918; National Childbirth Trust 0870 444 8708