5 Mothers on What No One (and Everyone) Told Them About Breastfeeding

Repeller

The effort to “normalize breastfeeding” has existed since the 70s with breastfeeding support groups like La Leche League, but in 2014, the hashtag #normalizebreastfeeding went viral when photographer Vanessa Simmons began posting photos of breastfeeding women on social media. Since then, breastfeeding in public has been legalized in all 50 states — a huge victory in the effort to de-stigmatize something that never should have been controversial in the first place.

Despite these strides, breastfeeding remains a loaded topic, not only in regards to where it’s done, but whether it’s done, and how, and why. At the end of the day, the choice of whether or not to breastfeed — and every decision made after that, from balancing pumping with going back to work to incorporating formula or using formula exclusively — is the parent’s to make. Much of that practical and often emotional process, however, remains private. So in an effort to celebrate these choices in all their manifestations and shed light on their joys and challenges, Man Repeller is spotlighting five mothers with five very different breastfeeding experiences. Keep scrolling to read their stories.