Whitney Port made headlines over and over again for being candid about the details of her pregnancy. She got real about everything from "hating" the process to her road to conception to not wanting to have sex while pregnant. Now Whitney, who recently welcomed a baby boy, is tackling one of the toughest realities of new mom life: The difficulties of breastfeeding.
Anyone who has ever breastfed will tell you: There's way more that goes into the process than simply placing your breast in your baby's mouth and watching him or her magically know exactly what to do. Breastfeeding is hard. For some women, it's really, really hard. Unfortunately, most people don't know how challenging it can be before they start doing it themselves—because like so many other things, breastfeeding issues are rarely discussed.
That's why we're so into Whitney's raw confession. The new mother shared a video in which she openly cries about how isolating and frustrating the process can be. "I've heard people talk about this pressure from other mothers…and I never thought that I would let it get to me 'cause I'm a pretty strong person and I go with my gut and I don't really compare myself to other people…and now I'm doing exactly that," she confessed.
The video, which is called "I love my baby but I haven't loved breastfeeding that much," touches on the pressures moms face, the physical pain associated with nursing, and her decision to work with a lactation consultant. Whitney explained that she's considering forgoing that bonding experience of breastfeeding in favor of pumping and giving her baby milk that way, as that's been much less painful for her.
"Because of how painful it is or has been I've sort of demonized breastfeeding in my head. The thought of doing it is almost dreadful," she said. "It's weird once you're in it that so many people have the same problem but no one really warns you about it."
Whitney admitted that she's blaming herself for possibly quitting and pumping milk to her baby going forward. But we say, everyone's story is different and ultimately, all moms have to do what works for them. The video is an important reminder that we all just have to stop putting so much pressure on ourselves. All we can do is our best.
"I would tell [other moms who are in this boat] to not listen to anybody else and do what their heart's telling them to do," she said. "And that's what I really should be doing."
