Ileana D'Cruz has moved to Texas, US, to raise her two sons with husband Michael Dolan - without any external help. As motherhood takes center stage for the actor, she recently opened up about her journey as a breastfeeding mother.
In an Instagram Live with Neha Dhupia for Live for Freedom To Feed, the Rustom actor opened up about motherhood and her experience with mastitis - an inflammation of the breast.
Talking about her breastfeeding struggles, Ileana D'Cruz admitted she hadn't expected it to be as challenging as it was. “My friends and family told me that breastfeeding can be intense. It was definitely painful initially. And then, you have the other complications that come with breastfeeding... I had no idea it was going to be as intensely painful as it was."
Despite the struggles, Ileana described breastfeeding as a privilege. "It's such a privilege to be able to feed your child, and the connection that you can have with your baby is really lovely," the mother of two shared.
Ileana D'Cruz opened up about feeling stressed while breastfeeding for the first time because of the judgement around. She talked about the experience at the hospital, where she was asked if she would want a lactation consultant to come and teach her about breastfeeding.
"At the hospital, we were told, you know, 'Would you like a lactation consultant to come and speak with you'? So I was like, 'Yeah, of course, you know, I'd love to have an expert come and talk to me. ' And I just felt so much judgment from this woman.
"The first question was 'Do you plan to breastfeed? Are you going to be formula feeding as well? And I'm like, 'Well, I plan to breastfeed only, but you know, you don't know what's going to happen'... Every woman has her own journey. Every mother has her own journey with her child, and you know what's best for your kid, instinctively," she shared.
With too many people giving her too much information, the 38-year-old was confused and recalled that she was extremely worried about breastfeeding.
Illeana D'Cruz also shared another experience where someone at the hospital told her not to pump milk for six weeks, while her doctor recommended her to do it earlier due to inflammation.
"I think I was so worried. It's very, very painful. So like I had a fever and everything was really bad," she recalled.
While she relied on the lactation expert the first time she had a baby but the second time around, she relied on her instincts to breastfeed and understood that every mother's journey is different.
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