Jenna Dewan and actor Steve Kazee welcomed their first child together in early March. In the five months that have passed, Dewan has had some difficulties breastfeeding her son, Callum Michael Rebel Kazee. Although this is the mom’s second child, her first is Everly whose dad is Channing Tatum, it’s not as easy this time around.
Dewan recently opened up about her breastfeeding journey as part of National Breastfeeding Month. Her struggles with nursing are extremely relatable for any mom who’s ever tried to master the art.
“Ohhh breastfeeding. It’s incredible and it can also be really challenging,” Dewan captioned a photo on Instagram. “At least it was for me the second time around.”
The mom has faced several impediments: “From latching issues, to my son loving one side vs. another, making more milk, when to pump… EVERYTHING was different and I found myself asking a lot of questions.”
She ended up getting to through it, after learning “helpful tips” from other moms. “There really is no other advice that compares to other moms who have been in exactly the same situation,” she explained. “I always believe that when women come together and share knowledge, we are so powerful.”
Any parent who’s ever gone through breastfeeding troubles knows how alienating and defeating the experience can be. Dewan needed help from other mothers and that sense of community is what all moms deserve.
The actor and dancer is not the only celebrity to open up about how awful breastfeeding can be. For some, who set their minds on breastfeeding, it can feel like the hardest thing in the world, especially when hormones are in flux and emotions are so high after giving birth.
Model and mom of three, Molly Sims recently shared her own struggles with breastfeeding. She admitted that it caused her to feel depressed and anxious. Especially after she was “mom-shamed” for having to turn to formula.
“It scared the s**t out of me,” Sims admitted. “And it probably set off [some] of that, ‘Oh my God they’re drowning’ [feeling]. I had a lot of hot sweats after the baby, just waking up in pools and your hormones dropping, but I never had dark thoughts about my baby or myself. It was more about, ‘Oh God, what if something happens to them?’”
Luckily, with the help of her therapist and a lactation specialist, she was able to get a hand on things.
Perhaps, comedian Ali Wong described it best.
“I thought it was supposed to be this beautiful bonding ceremony where I would feel like I was sitting on a lily pad in a meadow, and bunnies would gather at my feet…” she said in her Netflix special, Ali Wong: Hard Knock Wife. “No, it’s not like that at all. Breastfeeding is this savage ritual that just reminds you that your body is a cafeteria now.”
It’s truly great that these celebrities are stepping forward and sharing their stories about breastfeeding to help normalize just how uncomfortable, difficult, and even painful it can be.
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We appreciate Sims, Wong, and Dewan’s candor. Dewan’s suggestion that women come together to help each other, not judge one another is spot-on. Breastfeeding is tough. We get community questions for advice all the time. The more mothers admit this out loud and share what they’ve learned, the more all parents can benefit from their breastfeeding wisdom!
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