Entertainment

13 Struggles Celebrities Have Had With Breastfeeding

by Samantha Darby

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?

1Dealing With Insecurities When You Can't Breastfeed

The insecurities can seem overwhelming when you're having trouble breastfeeding, and it doesn't take much to convince you that you are a failure and letting down your child. Adele may be a powerhouse in the music industry, but she faced those same insecurities when she struggled to breastfeed. According to Daily Mail, Adele opened up about her struggles to feed her son in a concert Q&A. "I mean, I loved it, all I wanted to do was breastfeed, and then I couldn’t, and then I felt like, 'If I was in the jungle now back in the day, my kid would be dead because my milk’s gone.' It's not funny, that's how some of us think," she said.

2Weaning Because Of A Biting Baby

Sometimes weaning happens before you're ready, which was the case for Ali Landry. The actress and model shared her story in a blog for People about being disappointed that her breastfeeding journey with her daughter ended when her little girl was 10 months old because she wouldn't stop biting. Landry wrote that she spoke to doctors, friends, lactation consultants, and even tried hand expressing her milk directly into her baby's mouth to avoid her teeth, but in the end, she had to wean. It's a personal choice, but it can feel disheartening to end breastfeeding sooner than you wanted.

3Weaning Because Of A Jealous Sibling

If you've ever had to deal with a jealous older sibling trying to pull their baby brother or sister off your breast, that you've dealt with the same struggles as Kim Kardashian. According to Daily Mail, Kardashian had to stop breastfeeding Saint because big sister North was having none of it and would actually pull her little brother off of her mother's breast. As if dealing with fights over toys wasn't enough, right?

4Feeling Like A Cow While Breastfeeding

Everyone's favorite new mom Chrissy Teigen had some funny, but true words to say on breastfeeding. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Teigen spoke about breastfeeding her newborn daughter and said that breastfeeding for so many hours can day makes her feel like a cow. I mean, if Teigen can feel like a cow, then it's definitely OK for all breastfeeding moms to feel that way.

5Justifying Breastfeeding In Public

Breastfeeding in public is still a hot topic for everyone to debate about, but Alyssa Milano hasn't been exempt from the discussion either. She often posts pictures of her breastfeeding her children on social media, but when she visited The Wendy Williams Show, she had to continue to justify why it's OK to breastfeed in public, despite Williams' disagreement on the issue.

6Being Shamed For Breastfeeding In Public

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Mila Kunis recently opened up to Vanity Fair about a breastfeeding struggle many moms know about — being shamed for breastfeeding in public. The pregnant actress and mother of one spoke about feeding her daughter in public and receiving shameful glances that made her and her husband uncomfortable.

7Feeling 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.

8Their 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."

9Shamed 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.

10Low 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.

11Breastfeeding 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.

12Engorgement

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.

13Milk 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.