Any woman who has chosen to try breastfeeding a newborn knows that it can be physically and emotionally demanding. And even if you need help, it’s not exactly something you can turn over to your partner. But you can certainly let them support you.
These celebrity dads are bringing the breastfeeding support mainstream, giving partners the world over some inspiration and ideas on how to step up to the plate. So often, society treats breastfeeding mothers like they are unwanted or invisible, so every bit of support goes a long way in normalizing this perfectly normal behavior.
First up is action star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson who shows the importance of keeping a nursing mom well fed with nutritious food that she doesn’t have to procure or cook herself. Breastfeeding burns a ton of calories, so staying full of healthy food is key.
Of the accompanying photo, he said:
“I’ll handle this business. Mama @laurenhashianofficial has her hands full nursing/feeding Baby Tia, so I’m feedin’ mama her dinner. My pleasure. So much respect to her and all mamas out there holding it down and running things.”
Actor Justin Baldoni, who stars on the show “Jane the Virgin,” also took to Instagram to support his breastfeeding wife. In two beautiful photos he shared, Emily is feeding their son with a blissful look on her face.
And he also shared some sweet commentary:
“I love watching Emily feed our son. They share such a deep bond and I can see how much joy it brings her when everything stops and it just the two of them connecting … It still blows my mind at how incredible the female body is and that the only thing my son has eaten since he was born has been produced by my wife.”
It’s great to see partners appreciate all the hard work that goes into raising and caring for a child.
Baldoni also included the hashtag #normalizebreastfeeding and waxed on about just how beautiful she is, even when she doesn’t feel that way.
American singer Andy Grammar also showed support for his breastfeeding wife and the perfectly normal need to breastfeed in public.
His wife Aijia looks more defiant than blissful, and that’s likely because women sometimes get criticism for feeing their children in public. Calling out the mom-shamers on Twitter he addresses the photo “to all the moms feeding their babies without a care and in style.”
A little sass and a lot of love go a long way in raising a well-adjusted child. Aijia is ready for someone to approach her with a problem. We certainly wouldn’t want to get between her and her right to feed her baby.
While it seems like a no-brainer that a partner would want to support the breastfeeding mom in their life, it’s common for men to be treated as heroes when do. Granted, it’s great, but rapper George Moss pointed out that is should be common and, frankly, expected.
When people responded to a photo of him cleaning his wife’s breast pump after a concert (which he hilariously hashtagged #thuglife) with hundreds of kudos, he pointed out that his wife is the real hero.
“If anyone should get the credit it should be people like my wife! This woman AMAZES me! Through all the pain & soreness, frustrations, stress, etc. of trying to breast feed and pump, she gets up in the middle of the night to nurse a hungry baby.”
One last great example of mom empowerment comes from the hilarious actress Kristin Bell and her “Momsplaining” series. In it, she shared a story about her husband Dax Shepherd’s help when she had a painful mastitis infection that she had to deal with for a bit before she could get to a physician.
Since their baby had recently stopped breastfeeding but she needed to express her milk to relieve the pain, they tried something that redefines going the extra mile. Bell told Shepherd “We can talk about it, we can be weird about it, or you can just go ahead and nurse.” And nurse he did, spitting the breast milk out into a cup. “I’ve never been more in love,” said Bell.
That’s some serious commitment!
While partners don’t necessarily need to go this far to support breastfeeding moms, a little compassion, support, a good meal, and protection from the mom-shamers of the world goes a long way.
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