Made in Chelsea star Millie Mackintosh has been praised by fans for being honest about her 'painful' struggles with breastfeeding. The 32-year-old reality star gave birth to baby Aurelia in November, giving her daughter, Sienna, a little sister.
Sharing a lot of her life with fans online, Millie, who is married to TV personality Hugo Taylor, has been frank about her journey with motherhood. The mum-of-two revealed that she had to stop breastfeeding three-month-old Aurelia after suffering from severe mastitis.
According to the NHS, mastitis is common in breastfeeding women, as it can be caused by the build-up of milk. The condition involves breasts becoming swollen, hot and painful.
Millie admitted to fans that, every time she breastfed Aurelia, she was left 'crying in pain'. In an Instagram post containing several images of Millie attempting to feed Aurelia, the star wrote: "My breastfeeding journey with Aurelia recently came to an end, at first I had mixed feelings about stopping but now a few weeks have passed I know that for us it was the right time.
"I really felt the pressure during my first round of mastitis to continue feeding. After mentioning it on social media I was flooded with messages and although there was a lot of support with people sharing different remedies that could help, I really felt the pressure to just keep going even though I was literally crying in pain every time I needed to feed.
"There was one comment that really stuck with me, 'it's ok to stop too, it doesn't make you a bad mum' at the time I really needed to hear that. I started to combi feed and whilst it worked for us for a while, and I loved the bonding time, ultimately when I got mastitis again, I decided breastfeeding wasn't working for me anymore and I knew it was time to stop."
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Millie added: "I was in a lot of pain, I really wanted my body back, my time back and Aurelia was really unsettled which I found upsetting and frustrating. Now Aurelia is purely on formula, at first there was a bit of resistance whilst we found the right bottle and teat size, but not she is feeding well and we're getting into a good routine.
"I still love the time spent feeding her, she clutches my fingers, pulls me close and stares into my eyes, I still feel just as important to her."
The photos accompanying the post show Millie in a lot of pain. Aside from one of her with tears in her eyes, there is one uncomfortable looking image of the Made in Chelsea star with a bag of peas on each breast, in an attempt to relieve the discomfort and swelling.
Millie said: "I wanted to share a few photos with you taken during this experience to show the good and also the hard moments. Breastfeeding is a different journey for every mum and I'm so glad I got to experience it twice, I take my hat off to the mums that keep fighting and making it work because it is one of the hardest things I've ever done!
"When you're a new mum it's easy to feel the pressure and get swept up in what everyone else thinks is the best thing for you to do. But ultimately, the most important thing is that your baby is fed, and you're both happy!"
Some of Millie's 1.4 million followers were quick to leave messages of support in the comment section, with some even relating to her words of honesty. Nin applauded Millie, saying: "I couldn't agree more with everything you said!
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"I have 3 kids and I tried my absolute best breastfeeding which didn't come very naturally to me and the truth is me and my babies was the most happy when the bottle appeared and that's ok well done you."
Lorraine said: "This will benefit soooo many people - well done for sharing."
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