How This Mom Battled Her Breastfeeding Guilt
During World Breastfeeding Week, mom content creator Adriana Goblirsch comforts by being candid about her struggles against breastfeeding guilt
Having a baby is one thing, but breastfeeding is another story altogether. It’s not always a happy story; sometimes, it’s filled with shame and pressure. Especially when so many things can affect milk supply, it can be difficult to identify which factor it is—let alone admit to the struggles. It’s what mom content creator Adriana Goblirsch shares on an Instagram post. After quitting breastfeeding months ago, she reveals how the shame or breastfeeding guilt still creeps in.
“The pressure. The comparisons,” she enumerates. “The thoughts that ask, “Did I try hard enough?”
However, she comforts other moms through the same posts with insights she gathered while coming to terms with her breastfeeding guilt.
When “Breast is Best” Gets Weaponized
While there are piles of studies that prove “breast is best,” they rarely talk about the struggles that come with it. It’s as Adriana says, “The pressure to keep on going [breastfeeding]? It’s loud! But the shame when you stop, even louder!”
It’s why she adds that World Breastfeeding Week isn’t just about “protecting, promoting, and supporting breastfeeding.” It also includes helping moms get better access, making more informed choices, and honoring what’s best for their families. That includes talking about the guilt, pressure, and shame that can come with breastfeeding.
“Sometimes, ‘breast is best’ turns into guilt, pressure, and shame,” she points out. “Especially when you couldn’t, or didn’t, or chose to stop.”
Those accusing thoughts of betrayal can get especially loud, accusing new moms and even experienced ones who have breastfed prior. However, she comforts the many moms who read her post, acknowledging that they have “survived” while sharing her story of why she quit.
“I didn’t stop because I didn’t care,” she writes. “I stopped because I did. Because I was exhausted. Because I wanted to enjoy my baby. Because my mental health mattered too. And, I am not sorry.”
“You’re not a worse mom for stopping.”
While motherhood is often filled with stories of sacrifice and unconditional love, Adriana reveals the truth: there is no award for self-sacrifice.
“There’s no shame in formula,” she writes. “There’s no right way. There’s only one way—the one that allows both of you [you and your baby] to thrive. You’re not a better mom for enduring. But you’re not a worse mom for stopping, either.”
While she celebrates with moms who’ve had a better breastfeeding journey, she hopes that those moms who have had a happier story will offer compassion to moms who struggle with it.
“I’m here to say choice matters. Mental health matters. And no one,” she emphasizes, “should have to suffer in silence just to meet a goal. Feeding should be about care, not shame.”
Breastfeeding issues can be caused by so many things. Some can be explained by science. Others don’t have a concrete reason why it’s hard to breastfeed.
However, the most important this World Breastfeeding Week is to celebrate not just the moms who managed to exclusively breastfeed for so long. But it’s also those who had to walk away and did what every mom would do: to make sure their baby was happy and fed.
More about breastfeeding?
Wireless Pump and Other Breastfeeding Essentials Moms Will Love
Breastfeeding Guilt: The Pressure of “Breast Is Best”
Marlann Flores On Breastfeeding: “It’s Complicated.”
