Keke Palmer Says Breastfeeding Has Been a "Doozy"
From the moment you find out you’re pregnant, you’ll hear from doctors and experts about the benefits of breastfeeding your baby.
And they’re not wrong. There are plenty of advantages for both mom and baby. According to the CDC, breastfeeding reduces a mother’s risk of breast and ovarian cancer, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure. And infants who are breastfed have a lower risk for asthma, obesity and type 1 diabetes.
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But what they don’t always tell you is that ish ain’t easy. And for some new moms, who either can’t produce a healthy milk supply or take medications that make breastfeeding unsafe, it’s not even an option. Thankfully, we’ve got our girl Keke Palmer to keep it all the way real about her personal challenges with nursing.
In a recent interview with PEOPLE, Palmer, who gave birth to son Leo in February said breastfeeding has been a “doozy” and something that didn’t come easy.
“Although breastfeeding is ‘natural,’ it’s not instinctual,” Palmer recently told PEOPLE. “I really went through the journey of just trying to figure out how to do that and how to support my baby — how to deal with the pressure of trying to do that right.”
With the help of a lactation consultant, a certified professional trained to offer support and guidance to breastfeeders, the “Nope” actress was able to find support on her breastfeeding journey.
“You don’t even really know what to search,” Palmer said, “and how to really prepare yourself for something like that. So shout out to all the lactation consultants because mine really, really made the difference for me.”
But while the Affordable Care Act requires insurance companies to provide some relief for the cost of a lactation consultant, some parents need support beyond what their insurance plan covers. And Palmer knows that not everyone has the resources to seek outside help.
“I wish that everybody had access to lactation consultants,” she said. “It sucks that it’s kind of like a luxury. They have people saying breast is best, breast is best. But not everyone can even get support. That’s a mess.”
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