Entertainment
Celebrities deal with more criticism and judgement than normal people and it seems to amplify when they have children. The mommy wars are exhausting enough, but can you imagine a single Instagram post receiving hundreds of hateful comments? In the world of parenting, few things trigger everyone's expertise like breastfeeding, which is why the struggles celebrities have had with breastfeeding are so important to talk about. If a well-loved celeb can't share her struggles to breastfeed, then who can?
If you ask me, a fed baby is the best kind of baby, but my opinion doesn't stop everyone going on and on about breastfeeding. The truth is, even though there are enormous benefits to breastfeeding, not everybody does it. Whether a person chooses formula, tries to breastfeed and has to supplement, or simply can't breastfeed is none of our business. What matters is that a child is healthy, happy, and loved.
But when a celebrity shares that they are formula feeding, out come all of the critics and nosy fans. Why aren't they breastfeeding? How can they be so selfish? Don't they know it's what's best for the baby? Did they even try? Did they just give up? These 13 struggles celebrities have had with breastfeeding prove a couple of things. One, they are just like you — they are trying to do what's best for their baby. And two, these celebrities are human. Despite the struggles to breastfeed, they have persevered and overcome the challenges to raise happy, healthy little people. What more do you want from them?
7
Feeling Sad Over Weaning
Back in 2009, Gwen Stefani spoke to USA Today about her clothing line and mentioned how emotional she felt when her middle son, Zuma, self-weaned at 1 years old. The superstar said that it "felt like a total rejection" and that she wasn't ready for her little one to quit breastfeeding yet.
8
Their Breast Milk Never Came In
Country music singer Jana Kramer opened up to People earlier this year about becoming a new mom and shared the major breastfeeding she struggled with — no milk. "Unfortunately, my breast milk never came in," Kramer said. "I had trouble with that — there's so much mommy shame about not breastfeeding."
9
Shamed For Supplementing With Formula
Some moms do everything they can to breastfeed, but still have to supplement with formula to make sure their little ones are getting the nutrition they need. Apparently, that's still shamed by others and Hilary Duff faced it herself. E News! reported that Duff opened up about the judgement and shame she felt from others when she supplemented with formula when her son was around 7 months old. Nope, not even Lizzie McGuire is exempt from the sanctimommies and parenting experts.
10
Low Milk Supply
One of my favorites, Kelly Rowland, knows all too well the struggle of a low milk supply. She spoke to Parents about her issues with breastfeeding and said that despite really wanting to breastfeed her son, Rowland wasn't producing enough milk. She also mentioned that the more upset she got, the more she think her supply plummeted as she mentally limited herself. Eventually, she supplemented with formula and both she and her little guy turned out just fine.
11
Breastfeeding As A Working Mom
Pumping and breastfeeding as a working mom is incredibly tough and Chelsea Clinton knows it. In an interview with E! News, the former first daughter and now working mom said that going back to work definitely presented some challenges for breastfeeding. She quickly had to get used to the idea of pumping where she could, even in a bathroom airport, to get the job done.
12
Engorgement
There are few things worse than engorged breasts and according to Fit Pregnancy, Amanda Peet had to deal with that same pain. The actress opened up about her engorged breasts shortly after giving birth to her third child and how she had to turn to cold cabbage leaves for comfort and help with her breasts.
13
Milk Dries Up A Few Months Into Breastfeeding
Model Coco Rocha shared some information about feeding her daughter when a post about picking up formula received a lot of criticism. On Instagram, Rocha explained that she breastfed her baby for the first five months of her life before her milk dried up, leaving her to supplement with formula so her little one could be healthy.