WHY MILLEN

FASHION designer Karen Millen has issued an apology after calling mums who breastfeed beyond six months selfish and saying it has no benefit.

- BY EMMA HAWES TAYLOR

The 64-year-old mum-of-three's comments on Vanessa Feltz’s Channel 5 show triggered a huge backlash from mothers.

Ms Millen said: “I know I have upset a lot of people and as a woman to women, I do want to support you, so my apologies once again. I hope you forgive me.”

She also said her comments were based on a three-year-old child being breastfed, not breastfeeding itself.

But by that measure I am selfish because I breastfed my daughter Lilia, now 15, until she was eight and son Gabriel, 10, until he was six.

At times I desperately wanted to stop but it was important to my children and beneficial to their health and well-being, so I continued.

There's a huge lack of knowledge and education about breastfeeding in our society. People don't understand breast milk is the biological norm for babies.

I am a 50-year-old seamstress who lives in Oxfordshire with my telecoms manager husband Andy, 58, and Lilia and Gabriel. We married when I was 34 and when Lilia was born, I fed her immediately but we started having issues with pain and latching on.

I was determined to carry on breastfeeding but one day sobbed to my health visitor that it was too hard. She said I'd regret it if I stopped, and she was right.