Celebrity Moms and Their Breastfeeding Views, Practices

Being in the public eye puts celebrity moms front and center when they are pregnant. Soon after the little celebrity bundles of joy are born, it isn't long before photographers are clamoring for photos and magazines are negotiating for interviews. Breastfeeding celebrity moms, with their busy schedules, soon make it obvious to the world that they have chosen the best way to feed their babies. Here are a few that stand out for their outspoken commitment to breastfeeding.

Gwen Stefani

Gwen Stefani has been quoted by USA Today as saying that she believes breastfeeding gives superhuman powers. She admitted that she was still nursing her then six month old son. Pictures of Gwen and her son, Kingston, are numerous on the internet. Gwen seems to be practicing Attachment Parenting, or AP, to it's fullest as well as breastfeeding. Moms that breastfeed know that you can never be far from your nursing infant. It appears that Gwen practices what she preaches. She talks publicly about breastfeeding and even apologized at one interview for being an hour late because she was nursing.

Katie Holmes

Perhaps one of the most talked about celebrity moms, Katie Holmes has been photographed with a nursing bra peeking out from under her blouse. Soon after her baby, Suri, was born, Tom Cruise, the baby's father, publicly announced that his then fianceé, Katie Holmes, was breastfeeding while he took burping duties. Still, the parents have kept Suri out of the public eye for the most part. There have been few photos of Katie with Suri in tow. One can't help wonder if the now one year old is still being breastfed.

Jennifer Garner

Jennifer Garner talked breastfeeding with Allure magazine as reported in Celebrity Baby Blog.com. In the interview, Jennifer admitted that breastfeeding was much more emotional than she imagined it would be. She was disappointed, however, that nursing was not the magic way to weight loss for her as it is for many women. She did admit, though, that she was able to lose most of her baby weight by six months postpartum. Jennifer's slow weight loss is something that many women experience while breastfeeding. Still, Jennifer talked positively about breastfeeding and mentioned that she couldn't wait to feed her baby, Violet, when she got home.

Sarah Jessica Parker

By the end of the run of the hit show Sex and the City, Sarah Jessica Parker, the actress who starred as single writer, Carrie Bradshaw, was a mom in real life. Style.com reports that Sarah was a proud nursing mother. Her son, James Wilkie Broderick, was brought to the set every day so that Sarah could nurse him. It was reported that Sarah even nursed openly in a meeting with HBO executives in Los Angeles.

Celebrity mothers are in a position to be role models to young women and mothers throughout the world. If celebrity mothers openly talk about breastfeeding and even go so far as to nurse in public, then they are influencing millions of women to do the same. Their actions are normalizing breastfeeding in the U.S., where breastfeeding rates are still lower than much of the rest of the world. These celebrity mothers deserve a pat on the back.

References:

http://www.style.com/w/feat_story/
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http://www.breastfeeding123.com/
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http://www.celebrity-babies.com/
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http://www.celebrity-babies.com/2007
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