Des-Tetar (Wean : stop breastfeeding)

The second vitally important moment of separation after birth in people's lives is weaning. It is not only about stopping feeding, but also about separating, about leaving that state of emotional fusion that involves so many affections.

I decided to start weaning gradually when my daughter was two years old. But the reason for stopping breastfeeding contradicted my own feelings and that generated a depression in me. I lived the process as a duel.

When I became aware of my true desire as a mother, I returned breastfeeding on demand. I understood and accepted my dependency and my fear of abandonment…. In the process I learned that the decision to wean had to be agreed upon and accepted by both of us, my daughter and myself. I continued to breastfeed my daughter until she was four and a half years old. We set the date together and did a ritual to celebrate.

Zaida Kersten is a photographer of Spanish-Mexican nationality. She graduated in Journalism from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (2000), she worked for ten years at the Agence France Presse in Paris and began photography after following training at the Center Iris school (Paris 2005-06). A member of the Agence Révélateur (2012-17), she has exhibited in galleries in different European countries as well as in various international festivals (Itinéraires des Photographes Voyageurs, FotOax, Revela-T, Phémina Photo Festival, Arles Voies Off). In 2019 she self-published her first photobook "Uterus" and cofounded the collective AmaZones Collectif. And in 2021 she launches the second edition of “UTERUS.” He currently lives and works in Mazunte, Oaxaca (Mexico).