14 Times Celebrity Moms Got Real About Breastfeeding

It’s unfortunate that in 2020 women are still being criticized about whether or not they choose to breastfeed their children—or even where they decide to do so. Feeding your child is a good thing! But when celebrity moms like Amy Schumer, Hilary Duff, Jessica Alba, and Khloé Kardashian publicly speak out about the struggles (and joys) of breastfeeding and pumping (or not), it helps to normalize the conversation for all women.

Below are some of the best quotes and images on the topic.

Jenna Dewan

Jenna Dewan and her fiancé, Steve Kazee, welcomed their first child together—a son named Callum Michael Rebel Kazee—on March 6, 2020. Soon after, the new mom proudly shared a sweet breastfeeding photo on her Instagram Stories writing, "So happy."

Dewan let the world in on her pregnancy with Callum via photos on her social media feeds. (She also shares a daughter, Everly, with ex-husband Channing Tatum.) But she also got real about the less fun aspects. "First pregnancy was really easy. Evie was a dream pregnancy. And this time around, also really great, but everything's happening faster," she told Kelly Clarkson on the singer's talk show. "I'm swelling faster. I have heartburn faster. I was way more nauseous this time around. It's a little different."

Ashley Graham

The supermodel and her husband, Justin Ervin, welcomed their first son, Isaac, in January 2020—and she’s already sharing special breastfeeding moments via social media and her podcast. Graham posted a sweet photo of the family of three on Instagram, writing, “I remember holding Isaac for the first time and telling Justin, ‘Now we’re family forever.’ I have so many reasons to be grateful; all of the love and support from this amazing community, an incredible husband, and a beautiful baby who has opened my eyes to just how amazing this world really is. @mrjustinervin and Isaac, thank you for being my favorite @prettybigdealpod guests so far ❤️.”

She also breastfed Isaac during his introduction on her Pretty Big Deal podcast, which she then posted on YouTube.

Amy Schumer

The comedian gave birth to her son, Gene Attell Fischer, in May. In true Schumer fashion, she was honest and hilarious about her pregnancy and breastfeeding. “Guys what are we doing tonight? #schumerpump #ootd @stassischroeder,” she captioned a photo of herself attached to a breast pump and jokingly tagging Stassi from Vanderpump Rules with her “outfit of the day.”

In December 2019, Schumer opened up about her decision to stop breastfeeding after a month and switch her son to formula. “I wanted him to get the colostrum,” she said on the Informed Pregnancy and Parenting podcast, per People. “We had a lactation expert come over. He didn’t latch and I just didn’t feel that push to make that happen. Then I pumped for like the first month. Then I was like, ‘Not for me’…. This is not for me and I didn’t want to do it.

"Some people just absolutely love it and I’m so happy for them, and it was just bumming me out. But then I was also kind of proud doing it and whatever and getting him the milk and stuff,” she continued. “Then once it occurred to me that I could stop. I was like, ‘I’m going to stop’…. And then every week what I did was just took away one session of the pumping.

“You matter, and it’s going to be better for your baby that you’re okay,” she said. “All generations were raised on formula.”

Jessica Alba

Alba, an actor and founder of the Honest Company, often shared photos of herself feeding her son, Hayes, everywhere from the boardroom to a Target dressing room. “I felt like he wanted to nurse 24/7, which was obviously really challenging when you’re trying to go back to work,” she told Motherly. “Also my milk supply was challenged with him. I felt like I had the most milk with Honor and then it got less with Haven and even less with Hayes. And so that was just tough for me.”

Rachel McAdams

The actor has been mostly private about the birth of her first child, but she made headlines with a photo shoot for Girls. Girls. Girls. magazine in which she wore Versace—and a breast pump. “Obviously #rachelmcadams looks incredible and was quite literally the dream to work with but also this shoot was about 6 months post her giving birth to her son, so between shots she was expressing/pumping as still breastfeeding,” the magazine’s founder, Claire Rothstein, shared on Instagram. “We had a mutual appreciation disagreement about whose idea it was to take this picture but I’m still sure it was hers which makes me love her even more. Breastfeeding is the most normal thing in the world and I can’t for the life of me imagine why or how it is ever frowned upon or scared of.”

Hilary Duff

Duff recently opened up on social media about her decision to stop breastfeeding her daughter, Banks, after six months. “My goal was to get my little girl to six months and then decide if I (and her of course) wanted to keep going,” she wrote on Instagram. “Let me tell you. Pumping at work sucks. I had zero down time and am usually pumping in a hair and makeup trailer while four hands work to get me ready for the next scene with lots of other people around. Even if I had the luxury to be in my own room, it’s not even considered a ‘break’ because you have to sit upright for the milk to flow into the bottles!”

While she was still breastfeeding, Duff re-created McAdams’s famous pumping shot.

Chrissy Teigen

“The feeding schedule surprised me a lot. If you kind of do the math, you’re kind of breastfeeding for 10 hours a day total,” Teigen said after her daughter, Luna, was born. “It’s very loving and sweet, but it’s not easy. They just use you for your milk and you just feel like you are just a cow all day. It’s hard to work your entire day around getting her the nourishment she needs because they are just little animals.”

Nikki Reed

“I often get asked how long I plan on breastfeeding,” Reed shared on Instagram. “To be honest, I have no idea how long her and I will be on this journey together. I follow her lead, and she tells me exactly what she needs. At 20 months she is only just becoming interested in food…. Right now that’s where we’re at, still breastfeeding and skipping right to finger foods. Also, in case you need to hear it again because I definitely did, whatever you’re doing, you are doing it right! Every baby is on their own path doing things when and how they need to, and our job is to trust our gut, talk to other mamas and just go with the flow! Ps accidental matching outfits…come on! This bloomer/hat combo courtesy of both Grandmas making all my baby-wardrobe dreams I didn’t know I had come true :).”

Jamie-Lynn Sigler

The Sopranos star is never afraid to share what her life looks like as a mom living with multiple sclerosis. Last April she opened up about the tough decisions to stop breastfeeding so that she could get back on her medication. “All my fellow mommies that deal with M.S. or anything that causes them to have to make choices they didn’t necessarily want to…this is for you,” she wrote on Instagram. “I’m having to stop breastfeeding soon so I can get back on meds. The truth is, the toll of two kids and a newborn lifestyle is not the easiest on me…and I need some help. What sucks is that I live with a disease that makes decisions for me a lot, and with breastfeeding I took SUCH pride that I was able to do something really awesome with this body that I am constantly at war with. This little guy’s tummy is struggling with the formula, and I KNOW we will both be fine, but I’m emotionally having to deal with the guilt and sadness that is coming along with weaning us both off this magical time. Any advice from my fellow mommies on how this can be any easier? Xxxxx”

Ali Fedotowsky

The Bachelor alum [talked to Fit Pregnancy and Baby in 2017 after the birth of her daughter. “I’m still breastfeeding. I don’t know how long I’m going to make it,” she said. “I barely had any pain when I started, and I always had a great supply. Every time I breastfeed Molly, I’m famished afterward. I feel it’s like a workout. I’m afraid when I stop breastfeeding, I’m going to gain a bunch of weight.”

Mila Kunis

“There were many times where I didn’t bring a cover with me, and so I just did it in a restaurant, in the subway, in the park, at airports, and in planes. Why did I do it in public? Because I had to feed my child. She’s hungry,” Kunis told Vanity Fair about breastfeeding her daughter, Wyatt. "It took us a little back because people actually looked at us in a shameful [way], and we were like, ‘Oh my God,’ because it’s so not a sexual act.”

Khloé Kardashian

“I tried breastfeeding for weeks and weeks!” Kardashian said after having her daughter, True. “For me it was so painful, but I also was not producing a lot of milk. So I had to pump every time she was napping. I guess due to stress my milk was not coming in. I tried and I just couldn’t give her enough. So I had to go to formula.”

Troian Bellisario

The Pretty Little Liars star welcomed her first child, a daughter, with husband Patrick J. Adams last fall. In honor of World Breastfeeding Week, she took to Instagram to talk about her own experience.

“I would never have thought something so simple would be so complicated. My milk came in immediately (so lucky!) my daughter has always eaten well (little bit of reflux but all good) and breastfeeding her was never painful or frustrating (SO RARE) but the mastitis🥴, waking up in the middle of the night to pump😴, pulling off on the freeway to pump, or hiding in dark corners of houses while pumping or else I can’t sleep it’s SO PAINFUL🥵,” she wrote. “(I’ve included the most glamorous I’ve ever looked while feeling like an effing cow) having to be conscious of everything I put or do not put in my body (it’s been almost two years if you count pregnancy) and that means alcohol, medication, even melatonin! I can’t even join in all of this cool CBD stuff that’s happening. But…no matter how much I HATE pumping or how complicated MY relationship with food is, it has been a joy, an honor and a no brainer to feed my daughter this way. 🙌🏽 My body has made it easy for us and i have loved every moment i get to spend this kind of time with her. Not every mother gets that. I don’t know if I will have it for much longer, but I will always take care of her and do what is best for us. (Once again f*ck pumping. Love you forever babay girl.)”

Gisele Bündchen

The supermodel shares two children with her NFL quarterback husband, Tom Brady, and took to Instagram to talk about her own experience with breastfeeding them in honor of World Breastfeeding Week—in English and her native Portuguese.

“One of the most special moments I’ve shared with my kids was while breastfeeding. That special look you get, that feeling of connection is unlike anything I have ever experienced,” she wrote. “I love how #breastfeedingawarenessmonth shines a light on the importance of breastfeeding. Yes, in the beginning it can be difficult, it can hurt (the cracks, bleeding, engorgement), but no matter how challenging, I would not change that experience for anything in this world. I feel blessed that I was able to nourish them in this way.

“Congratulations to all mamas out there for the effort that we put in, the ones who breastfeed, and those who could not and have had heartbreaking moments trying to. I celebrate all of you! 💕 🤱🏼💗”

Originally Appeared on Glamour