Paloma Faith's Breastfeeding Admission Has A Lot Of Mums Nodding In Agreement

Breastfeeding is a tricky topic for many – some aren’t able to do it, some manage to do so but find it excruciatingly hard and have to call it quits, others seem able to navigate it relatively easily. And don’t get me started on the weird stigma of then breastfeeding your baby into toddlerhood...

It seems like half the time, there’s no rhyme or reason to whether breastfeeding will work out for you or not. That said, the topic can still lead to lots of mums feeling guilt and shame. A BBC poll of over 1,100 respondents previously found half of mothers felt they let their baby down when they struggled to breastfeed.

Paloma Faith, who gave birth to her third child back in March, has shared how her third baby is “by far the easiest one to breast feed” – but it’s not always been a simple journey for the singer-songwriter.

She suggested mums should “stop blaming” themselves for how their feeding journeys turn out, and revealed how her breastfeeding journey has been wildly different for her three children in a refreshingly candid Instagram post.

“My first HURT LIKE MAD but I persevered for 7 months through being stubborn and feeling so under pressure to do it,” said the Only Love Can Hurt Like This singer.

“The second couldn’t breathe and swallow with coordination and would scream at my breast. I exclusively pumped for 3 months and threw in the towel.”

The Celebrity Traitors star said being able to stop breastfeeding was “liberating” however, as she could then “get on with just loving her”.

With her third child, he “latched immediately” and “knew what he was doing”. That said, she still experienced sore nipples and “wanted to cry every time [he latched]”.

Check out the full Instagram post here.

After sticking with it, she’s now six weeks postpartum and says feeding is going “relatively ok”. Her working formula seems to be: taking fenugreek to increase milk supply, feeding every four hours, and pumping twice a day (“at the end of a morning feed and before I sleep at night”).

The mum added she’s also giving her son “a bit of formula [milk]” each day so he doesn’t reject the taste if she ever needs to go somewhere without him.

She ended: “I just wanted to come on here and shout out to the mums who manage to do it well and the ones who can’t because I’ve been both and it’s not just you that has to hold all the feelings of failure or success ... Let’s give ourselves and each other a break because something ALWAYS gives whatever you decide to do. Go team mama!”

Her post resonated with a lot of people – particularly mothers – who agreed that women shouldn’t beat themselves up over breastfeeding. 

One fan wrote: “I couldn’t breastfeed my girls (25 and 30 years ago!) but felt guilt, but you are so right, we should not beat ourselves up about it and you younger women should give yourselves a break! Do you, whatever that may be!”

Another highlighted how the factors and emotions surrounding breastfeeding – and being able to do it or not – are complex: “My daughter never latched and I’ve been exclusively pumping for 8 months. I’ve almost thrown in the towel every day. Lowkey hate it but something keeps me going.”

They added: “It’s nuanced. I was so naive going into the whole process, I was like ‘well if my milk comes in I’ll breastfeed and if it doesn’t I’ll formula feed no biggie’. Omg [oh my god] it’s so so much more complex than that.”

Another commenter added: “Could not relate more. I also had three babies and three completely different journeys. Here’s to doing our best, however that may look.”