Tia Mowry Opens Up About Breastfeeding Journey on Instagram
Tia Mowry, who is the mom of two children, Cree (12) and Cairo (5), recently gave some insight into what life was like as a working mom who was also breastfeeding.
Mowry shared the message on Instagram with a carousel of 10 very personal photos.
"When I had Cree, I was struggling to breastfeed him. I was only able to breastfeed for 3 months before having to switch to formula,” Mowry wrote.
"During my second pregnancy, Instagram was around and it was actually through here where I learned a lot more about breastfeeding, and also where I met a huge community of women who were all so supportive and encouraged me to continue on,” she continued. “And during the second time, I found that I was able to breastfeed Cairo for 13 months."
She added, "Nonetheless, the journey was difficult. I was pumping every 3 hours at work while working 14 hour days on set, and at times I would have to breastfeed on set as well. And after those long days, I would return home and to breastfeed Cairo."
Mowry noted that her breastfeeding schedule also put serious stress on her body..
“Whenever I was traveling for work, I would pump extra milk so that she would have milk when I was away,” she detailed. “My body was extremely fatigued and overworked, and at one point, I got mastitis which is a painful infection of the breast tissue and had to be hospitalized."
She continued, "But even through the long days, and the hospitalization, I still didn’t give up. I continued to breastfeed through the pain, and pushed through."
Mowry closed out her message with some encouragement for any mothers who are navigating their own breastfeeding journey.
“If this isn’t enough to show you how badass moms can be- then I don’t know what else to tell you! And if you are struggling with breastfeeding, I want you to know that it is more than okay to feed your children formula,” she wrote. “As long as your children are fed, loved, happy, and supported that’s all that matters."
National Breastfeeding Month is dedicated to advancing advocacy, protection, and promotion of breastfeeding to ensure that all families have the opportunity to breastfeed. Equity gaps in access to resources and support create troubling disparities for breastfeeding mothers and birthing people.
August 25 through 31 is National Black Breastfeeding Week.
