Hilary Duff Gets Real About Breastfeeding

Recently, actress Hilary Duff candidly shared on Instagram her decision to no longer breastfeed her daughter Banks.

Updated: December 1, 2022

Last week, Hilary Duff opened up to her Instagram followers that she had made the decision to stop breastfeeding her six-month-old daughter Banks Violet Koma.

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The mother of two explained the details of her choice in a lengthy Instagram caption about having a hard time balancing her desire to nurture and feel close to her daughter through breastfeeding, while also going back to work filming her TV show Younger.

View this post on Instagram

THIS ONE’S FOR THE LADIES Just a few thoughts that I wanted to share on Breast-feeding. Last week was my last week nursing Banks (my six month old) I am a working mom of two. My goal was to get my little girl to six months and then decide if I (and her of course) wanted to keep going. Let me tell you. Pumping at work sucks. I had zero down time and am usually pumping in a hair and make up trailer while four hands work to get me ready for the next scene with lots of other people around. Even if I had the luxury to be in my own room, it’s not even considered a “break” because you have to sit upright for the milk to flow into the bottles! Plus you are having your damn nipples tugged at by an aggressive machine that makes an annoying sound, that echoes through your head day and night (I swear that machine and I had many conversations at midnight and 3 am)! Ttttthen having to find someplace to sterilize bottles and keep your milk cold (ok I’m done with that rant lol)! Anyway, I didn’t know this because with Luca I didn’t work until he was about nine months old, so I didn’t pump very often. Your milk supply drastically drops when you stop feeding as often and lose the actual contact and connection with your baby (😞). So I was eating all the feunugreek goats butt blessed thistle fennel cookies/drops/shakes/pills I could get my hands on! It was maddening. (Does fenugreek make anyone else smell like maple syrup and rubber gloves?...not chill) With all of this complaining, I want to say I enjoyed (almost) every moment of feeding my daughter. Felt so lucky to be so close to her and give her that start. I know many women are not able to and for that I am sympathetic and very grateful that I could. For six wonderful months. But I needed a break. I was going to break. With the stress of a dropping milk supply and a baby that was getting bored or not caring about nursing when I was available to. I was sad and frustrated and feeling like a failure all of the time. When really I’m a bad ass rock star. Moms get high on feeling like superwoman...because we are! Doing too much, because we can! KEEP READING in the comments below 👇🏼♥️

A post shared by Hilary Duff (@hilaryduff) on May 7, 2019 at 4:27pm PDT

She continued her thoughts in the comments section of her post:

“But somehow stuck on the feeling we can always do a little more! We are strong as hell over-achievers. I am amazed at all that we can do in one single day! That goes for myself, my mom friends, my mom, or my sister! I’m talking to you too mom, I don’t know who’s reading this. I wanted to share this because deciding to stop BFing was so emotional and hard. I thought about it ALL day everyday. It was a constant loop in my head. Weighing the pros and cons. And half of the time I wasn’t making any sense. It was about me, and not Banks at that point. I cried many times and felt so depressed while weening. I wasn’t myself at all. Something scary was hovering over my brain and my heart…the part of me that I know is smart and rational. The lows felt horrible. I was missing good time with my baby. But I was really missing that natural oxytocin high. Those chemicals are powerful hormones and no joke.”

The 31-year-old finished up:

“I am happy to say that I haven’t fed or pumped in three days and it’s crazy how fast you can come out on the other side. I feel fine and happy and relieved and silly that I even stressed on it so hard. Banks is thriving and I get even more time with her and daddy gets to do more feeds! And mommy gets a tiny bit more sleep! Whether you are pre or postpartum. Or just a busy mom, You are a star everyday for all that you do. Always putting yourself last and running a mile a minute…while carrying all of the bags lol. Love you all and hope this helps anyone struggling! See you nursing bras until next time!”

Ultimately, the choice to stop breastfeeding your child is a very personal one, as is the choice to share that you are doing so. Opening up about personal topics such as breastfeeding, is something that should be applauded by all, especially because they can invite conflicting opinions.

While many mothers also make the same choice, not all do it in such a public manner like celebrities who have chosen to share their parenting wins and woes in the past. The comments have largely been extremely positive, thanking Hilary for being so honest with her followers, though there have also been some that disagree with her choice.

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