If you’ve ever embarked on the adventure of breastfeeding, you know how difficult it can be. Breastfeeding is a learned skill, for both you and your baby, and it’s not always (rarely ever; let’s be real) easy. Olivia Munn recently opened up about her own Breastfeeding Struggles on Instagramsharing, “I felt like my body was failing.”
Munn, mum to 2-month-old Malcolm, whom she shares with John Mulaney, writes that she suffered from low milk supply. In the video, she illustrates how she tried so many different tactics and techniques to increase supply, including wearing a small device filled with formula on her chest and sticking feeding tubes on her nipples in order to help stimulate milk flow while Malcolm was breastfeeding. But it still didn’t work.
Munn went on to chronicle everything she’s tried to increase her milk supply, a comprehensive list including:
- 2 lactation consultants
- 3 nursing pillows
- 3 different breast pumps
- Skin-to-skin contact
- Nipple ointments
- Heating pads to increase circulation
- liters of coconut water
- Lactation soups
- Lactation teas
- Lactation gummies
- Lactation vitamins
- Lactation cookies
“None of that worked! I cried and cried,” she recalls. “I was afraid of not bonding with my baby. But then I said f*ck it.
“Breastfeeding is fine. But so is formula,” she shares, cropping a photo of herself contently feeding Malcolm with a bottle of formula.
Related: How I Learned to Stop Feeling Guilty About Not Breastfeeding
With breastfeeding, so many things can go right, but so many things can go wrong. Whether you’re struggling with a poor latch, poor feeding, inverted nipples, or some other issue, it’s hard not to blame our own bodies. It’s all too easy to internalize the pressure we put on ourselves to breastfeed our babies. This pressure does not just come from us, but from family and friends, from the medical industry and, of course, from society itself. It’s everywhere and it’s unfair. But you’re not failing, mom. Admitting that you are struggling takes so much strength.
Here’s the thing about breastfeeding: it only works if it works for all parties involved. Mothers included. Munn had a lot of resources at his disposal, but they still weren’t working, and it was clearly causing him grief and a huge amount of stress. In her Instagram story, she praises her friends who helped her breastfeed… “and those who told me it was okay to quit.”
“Moms, do whatever you need to feed your baby and don’t let anyone hurt you. ❤️ ”
Do you want to try formula milk, mom? Find our favorites below.
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