Mother criticised for breastfeeding toddler while doing yoga

She credits breastfeeding yoga to helping her combat postpartum depression

Instagram (carleebyoga)

Breastfeeding is no mean feat at the best of times.

Not only can it be exhausting for new mothers to find secluded spots to feed their children while they're out and about, but should they choose to breastfeed in a way that anybody deems unconventional, they are met with barrage of criticism.

This certainly rings true for Carlee Benear, who is regularly the target of online vitriol thanks to the unusual way she chooses to breastfeed her children: while doing yoga.

Documenting her innovative methods on Instagram account @carleebyoga, the Texas-based artist champions breastfeeding yoga for its therapeutic qualities, claiming she got into the meditative form of exercise after the birth of her second child.

Having suffered from postpartum depression, Benear credits the practise for helping her mental health and transforming her capability to be a good mother to her three children.

She regularly posts images and videos of herself breastfeeding while in complex yoga poses, polarising her 63,000 followers.

While her snaps demonstrate her impressive skills and flexibility, which some followers praise as “beautiful” and “empowering”, Benear is regularly attacked online by trolls.

Some accuse her of breastfeeding her 18-month-old daughter for too long, while others label her technique as inappropriate, with some even branding it “child pornography”.

“If your child can walk up to you and suck on your nipple it’s too old to suck the nipple omg what is happening,” one user commented on a recent post.

“It’s like women have gone so far to make people accept nudity and breastfeeding they’ve lost their minds in the process.”

“This is not appropriate,” added another.

“I understand that she is breastfeeding her child and that’s alright but number one, she is constantly posting about it online on a website that doesn’t allow this, and number two, this child is at an age that her mother should have stopped lactating so I’m assuming she is forcing her child to suck on her boob.”

A constant champion of self-love, the mother-of-three is not deterred by the criticisms and continues to post her videos and images alongside inspiring mantras that defend her decision.

"Toddlers breastfeed in all sorts of positions and situations in normal life and this is just a new variation!” explained Philippa Pearson-Glaze, owner and editor of Breastfeeding.Support.

“There are many health benefits for both mother and child to breastfeed,” she told The Independent.

"The fact that Carlee happens to sometimes be doing yoga while breastfeeding is not any different to breastfeeding while chatting on the phone or nursing at the keyboard, although definitely more unusual."