Taking to Twitter, the 35-year-old began the discourse by cautiously stating, "Ok, I'm gonna say something and you all are definitely gonna make it a thing but here goes: normalise formula."
"Normalise that breastfeeding is such a huge, wonderful thing. But I absolutely felt way more shame having to use formula because of lack of milk from depression and whatnot."
"People have surrogates, people have trouble breastfeeding and all you hear as a new, anxious mum is how breast is best," she wrote.
She acknowledge that breastfeeding struggles in general needs to be normalised, but that formula was also a great alternative for some.
"Your baby is gonna be BEAUTIFUL, PERFECT, AND OKAY," she exclaimed.
Teigen, who is mother to both Luna, 4, and Miles, 2, then recalled the difficulties she experienced with pumping. "I remember pumping my ASS OFF, highest mode, so often, because I didn't trust milk was going into their mouths if I breastfed," she wrote. "It drove me mad to the point I could only get an ounce. An ounce!"
"The stress of it, combined with the guilt that you cannot do nature's most natural thing for your own baby is too much. I dunno why this is my crusade now. I just remember the sadness I felt and want you to know you are doing it right if your baby is fed, mama," she concluded.
Jenna Dewan then chimed in with her own experiences of struggling with breastfeeding.
"A great thread for mothers... I too had trouble producing milk second time around with Callum and wasted too much time feeling unnecessary anxiety and guilt about it."
The sentiment was the echoed by actress Olivia Wilde—another actress that has experienced her fair share of mum-shaming. She commented on the thread with "Amen, sister."
The Cravings entrepreneur has always been vocal when it comes to her experiences with parenting, including when she was recently criticised for publicly sharing the loss of her third child, Jack, on social media. Explaining that it was to keep his memory alive, many more praised the model for giving the topic of miscarriages, which is usually not spoken about, a platform for discussion.
In a personal essay she penned about the ordeal, she wrote: "I had asked my mum and John to take pictures, no matter how uncomfortable it was. I explained to a very hesitant John that I needed them, and that I did NOT want to have to ever ask. That he just had to do it. He hated it. I could tell. It didn’t make sense to him at the time. But I knew I needed to know of this moment forever, the same way I needed to remember us kissing at the end of the aisle, the same way I needed to remember our tears of joy after Luna and Miles. And I absolutely knew I needed to share this story."
If you or someone you know needs pregnancy loss support, please contact: Pink Elephants Support Network at 1800 882 436, SANDS at 1300 072 637, Bears of Hope at 1300 11 HOPE or Beyond Blue at 1300 22 4636.
