Health

This Viral Photo Nails a Brutal Reality Only a Handful of Mothers Know

February 7th 2016

Popular Facebook page, Breastfeeding Mama Talk, recently posted a viral photo of an unnamed mother breastfeeding her two baby girls at the same time and highlighting the challenges of tandem nursing in the caption. A lot of people are praising the photo, especially those who feel that the breastfeeding challenges facing mothers with children close in age are overlooked. The post opens with the mother explaining she is nursing her daughters Eleanor, age one, and Lucy, age two-and-a-half, in the picture.

 

She reveals that it was very hard breastfeeding Lucy when she was born, as the child wouldn't latch at first. That has since changed, and now that she has two children, she is proud to say she can breastfeed them both at the same time.

"Having these two grow up has been such an amazing experience!" the mother wrote. "They are best friends! Nursing my girls has been one of the biggest accomplishments I have had!"

The image has nearly 2,500 likes as of writing time, and has inspired many moms to share their own experiences and challenges with tandem nursing. Some are evening saying they wish they could tandem breastfeed their own children, but that they haven't been able to achieve it:

Tandem breastfeeding commentsBreastfeeding Mama Talk - facebook.com

The image is also helping to fight back against the cultural stigma against breastfeeding. Many mothers are shamed for breastfeeding in public or even sharing photos of themselves breastfeeding on social media, so it's bold of this mother to highlight this particular challenge in a telling photo about the experience.

mother-breastfeedingBigstock/HalfPoint - bigstockphoto.comNot Every Mother Reacts to Tandem Nursing In the Same Way.

In 2013, women's website SheKnows.com interviewed a mother named Danielle who shared the hardships she faced while tandem breastfeeding. Danielle's 2-year-old daughter, Jane, was still breastfeeding when her little brother, Jason, was born. Danielle said the entire experience left her feeling exhausted.

“When either baby would nurse, I would feel touched out, it wasn't just Jane,” she said. “But I knew that Jason was surviving off milk, while Jane was comforted. I felt terrible.”

However, another mother named Mariana, told SheKnows that even though tandem breastfeeding was "slightly uncomfortable" when she started, it ultimately made her feel like an incredible mom for attending to both kids at once and creating a bond they could share.

"It was a safe haven on bonding at a time when I was often exhausted and stressed," she said. "It was the only time I felt I was filling both children's needs at the same time and didn't have to do a 'triage' in my head to decide who to tend to first, and it was very reassuring for the children. They shared so many tender moments at my breasts! It was also a very practical way of getting them both to fall asleep at the same time, for instance."

Check out ATTN:'s video below for more information on mothers and breastfeeding shaming:

 

RELATED: People Are Loving Alyssa Milano's Daring Breastfeeding Post

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