Posted 48 minutes agoSubscribe to BuzzFeed Daily NewsletterCaret Down19 Celebrity Moms Get Real About What They Love (And Hate) About Breastfeeding"Breastfeeding can come easy and it can be nearly impossible."by Mychal ThompsonBuzzFeed StaffFacebookPinterestLink Breastfeeding is a natural bodily function, a necessity to help keep babies alive, but it's often shrouded in shame and misunderstanding. In honor of Breastfeeding Awareness Month, here are empowering and brutally honest stories from celebrities normalizing the good and bad of being a breastfeeding mother. 1. Mandy Moore openly posted about her breastfeeding journey with her children, sharing her struggles like clogged ducts, timing her life around feedings, and pumping for when she's at work in an Aug. 5, 2021, Instagram post. Alberto Rodriguez / Getty Images "Breastfeeding is not always smooth sailing (clogged ducts, timing life around feedings, pumping for when I'm at work, etc... ) but nursing this baby boy for the past nearly 6 months has been a beautiful, messy and an oh so rewarding experience I will treasure forever," she wrote. "It goes without saying that #fedisbest and I'm grateful to my body and the tremendous support I've had around me (especially in the beginning days and weeks when I had no clue what I was doing) for allowing me this time to nourish my sweet guy." 2. Chrissy Teigen got very candid about the difficulties of breastfeeding, urging mothers to "normalize" feeding their babies formula when necessary. Noam Galai / Getty Images "Normalize breastfeeding is such a huge, wonderful thing. but I absolutely felt way more shame having to use formula because of lack of milk from depresssion and whatnot," she wrote in a series of Nov. 2020 posts.
She continued, "I remember pumping my ASS OFF, highest mode, so often, because I didn't trust milk was going into their mouthes if I breastfed. it drove me mad to the point I could only get an ounce. an ounce!" 3. Alyssa Milano challenged Wendy Williams when the talk show host said public breastfeeding made her uncomfortable and it's "not [the] norm." Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images When Wendy said breastfeeding is something she doesn't need to see, Alyssa asked, "Why?" before questioning if it made sense to feed under a blanket or in the car instead. Wendy pushed back, adding that she's a mother too, and breasts are ultimately "sexual things." Alyssa responded, "Biologically, they're not made for sexual things, that's what we've done to them." 4. Olivia Wilde opened up about her decision to breastfeed her children and defended moms who didn't make the same choice as her. Daniele Venturelli / Getty Images "I've learned a lot about [the breastfeeding] debate since that [September 2014 Glamour] photo shoot and certainly since becoming a mother," she told Yahoo! Beauty. "One thing that is very clear to me is that it should be every individual woman's choice what she wants to do.""It was an interesting experience because that photo shoot came out of a very organic moment of having to feed my son because it was just my choice to breastfeed. But I did not in any way intend to shame women who had chosen not to breastfeed for whatever reason. It's a complex issue, but the one thing that's not complex is that people should be allowed to breastfeed wherever they want, whenever they want." 5. Gisele Bündchen opened up about the "special feeling of connection" with her children from breastfeeding, while admitting it comes with its challenges like "the cracks, bleeding, engorgement." James Devaney / Getty Images "One of the most special moments I've shared with my kids was while breastfeeding," Gisele said in a 2019 Instagram post. "That special look you get, that feeling of connection is unlike anything I have ever experienced." "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!" 6. Hilary Duff was honest about her decision to stop breastfeeding while being a working mom with two children. Frazer Harrison / Getty Images "I am a working mom of two. My goal was to get my little girl to six months and then decide if I (and her of course) wanted to keep going. Let me tell you. Pumping at work sucks," Hilary said in a 2019 Instagram post. Hilary, who didn't go back to work until her first-born was nine months old, went back really early with her second child. But, she faced challenges trying to work and pump. "I needed a break. I was going to break," she writes. "With the stress of a dropping milk supply and a baby that was getting bored or