"He's Sucking The Life Out Of Me": 17 Black Celebrity Moms Get Brutally Honest About What It Was Like To Breastfeed
Black Breastfeeding Week, which is held during the final week of August (National Breastfeeding Month), sheds light on the disparities between Black moms and mothers of other races, which include higher infant mortality rates, lack of diversity in the lactation field, complex historical connection between slavery and breastfeeding, amongst other things.
It's also a way to help eradicate the false narrative that Black women don't breastfeed, by highlighting individual feeding journeys and resources. So, to celebrate, we rounded up some celebrity mommas who have shared their experiences with difficulty latching, the perks and struggles of breastfeeding, and much more!
Pictured above is Kehlani with her daughter Adeya Nomi Parrish Young-White.
Here are some of their stories:
1.Keke Palmer welcomed her first child, a baby boy named Leodis, on February 25, 2023.
2.Ciara is the proud mom of four children — her oldest, Future, 9, who she shares with rapper Future, while sharing her youngest kids — 7-year-old Sienna, 3-year-old Win, and 8-month-old Amora — with her husband Russell Wilson.
3.Halsey became a first-time mom on July 14, 2021 after giving birth to Ender Ridley Aydin with their former partner, Alev Aydin.
“This cover image celebrates pregnant and postpartum bodies as something to be admired,” Halsey wrote on Instagram about the cover art for her concept album If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power. The album cover features and image of Halsey sitting on a throne holding a baby, while one of her breasts is exposed. “We have a long way to go with eradicating social stigma around bodies & breastfeeding. I hope this can be a step in the right direction!”
"This album is a concept album about the joys and horrors of pregnancy and childbirth,” she wrote in an Instagram post. “It was very important to me that the cover art conveyed the sentiment of my journey over the past few months. The dichotomy of the Madonna and the Whore. The idea that me as a sexual being and my body as a vessel and gift to my child are two concepts that can co-exist peacefully and powerfully. My body has belonged to the world in many different ways the past few years, and this image is my means of reclaiming my autonomy and establishing my pride and strength as a life force for my human being."
"I started breastfeeding and I figured out that breast milk is the best skincare ingredient ever because it's so full of antioxidants and good fats and stuff that speed up the healing process,” Halsey told Nylon.
4.Jodie Turner-Smith is the proud momma of 3-year-old Juno Rose Diana Jackson, whom she shares with her estranged husband Joshua Jackson. Jodie filed for divorce in October 2023.
"When I was pregnant, I told myself I would try to nurse for 6 months," Jodie wrote on her Instagram Story alongside an illustration depicting 'What a breastfeeding mom's boobs mean.' "Now, the 2-year mark is swiftly approaching, and my boobs are deflated and reaching southward, but I wouldn't trade a minute of this journey for anything in the world. Cheers to all the mummas on their breastfeeding journey, and especially Black mamas — I see you!!!"
Here's the graphic Jodie shared along with her message:
5.Tia Mowry welcomed two beautiful babies with her ex-husband Cory Hardrict — son Cree, 13, and daughter Cairo, 6.
6.Serena Wiliams and her husband Alexis Ohanian grew their family by two with daughters Alexis Olympia Ohanian, Jr., 6 (7 on Sept. 1), and 2-week-old Adira River Ohanian.
7.Kelly Rowland and her hubby Tim Weatherspoon love spending time with their boys Titan, 9, and Noah, 2.
8.Kerry Washington shares two children with husband Nnamdi Asomugha — Isabelle, 10, and Caleb, 7. Kerry is also the stepmother of Nnamdi's eldest daughter, Anaiya, who is 18.
"I was nursing at the time," Kerry said during an appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show. "And I remember I brought my pump with me, just in case. And thank God, because at 2 a.m., I was like, 'Can somebody show me a little closet where I can go and pump?' Because I'm not ready to leave this party!"
9.Alicia Keys and her husband Swizz Beatz gush over their kids Egypt, 13, and Genesis, 9. Alicia is also the stepmom to Swizz's three other children from previous relationships — Prince Nasir, 23, Kasseem Dean, Jr., 17, and Nicole, 16.
“I loved {breastfeeding]," Alicia said on The Conversation with Amanda de Cadenet. "I took this whole class too, which I thought was really good because I think a lot of people think you’re just supposed to have this natural instinct that’s supposed to happen out of thin air,” said Keys, who had to discover another part of breastfeeding on her own. “The whole engorgement thing, no one mentioned that part. I remember I was in bed, and I couldn’t move because it hurt, and there is no way around it.”
10.Cardi B and her estranged husband Offset welcomed two children together — Kulture Kiari Cephus, 6, and a son, Wave Set Cephus, 2. Cardi is currently pregnant with their third child.
11.Regina King welcomed her first and only child, a baby boy named Ian Alexander, Jr. on January 16, 1996. Ian tragically died by suicide at the age of 26.
“Honestly I just had my son the month before we started shooting and just being able to be in an environment that embraced a new mom,” King said about how she was treated on the Jerry McGuire set after giving birth. “And they took breaks when it was time for me to nurse, and that’s what I remember. I remember being able to be an actress and still be a mom, and that’s special.”
12.Halle Berry is the doting mom of 16-year-old Nahla Ariela Aubry, who she shares with actor Gabriel Aubry, and 10-year-old Maceo-Robert Martinez, who she shares with her ex-husband Olivier Martinez.
“I’m healthy, and that’s really good. When you’re nursing, you can’t really diet because you have to keep producing milk,” Halle told People. “Listen, I’m healthy and I’m happy and that’s all that matters.”
"When I would put Nahla on the boob, she would [have] a nice little girly suck," Halle said on an episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show. "Him...he's like sucking the life out of me!"
13.Jada Pinkett Smith was proud and pregnant with Willow Smith, 23, and Jaden Smith, 26. She is also the stepmom to her estranged husband, Will Smith's, first-born son Trey, 31.
“When I saw the picture, inside my heart, I had to clap because I remember when I would be out with Jaden and Willow breastfeeding," Jada told her guest Ashley Graham on Red Table Talk after seeing a photo of Ashley breastfeeding her new newborn twins. "Remember, I used to have that little breastfeeding cover, and it would make it so difficult? They’re in there; they’re suffocating, I can’t see them. I had so much anxiety about it because back when I had them, breastfeeding was like, WHAT? What are you doing?!”
14.Michelle Obama and former president Barack Obama have two beautiful daughters together — Malia, 26, and Sasha, 23.
“I packed up that little infant, and I put her in the stroller, and I brought her with me,” she said at a Workplace Flexibility Conference in 2010. “And I prayed that her presence wouldn’t be an automatic disqualifier. And it was fortunate for me that, number one, she slept through the entire interview. And I was still breastfeeding — if that’s not too much information. And I got the job.”
15.Beyoncé and Jay Z couldn't be happier to call Blue Ivy, 12, and 6-year-old twins Rumi and Sir Carter, their offspring.
"After the birth of my first child, I believed in the things society said about how my body should look," Beyoncé wrote in a Vogue op-ed. "I put pressure on myself to lose all the baby weight in three months, and scheduled a small tour to assure I would do it. Looking back, that was crazy. I was still breastfeeding when I performed the Revel shows in Atlantic City in 2012. After the twins, I approached things very differently."
"My mind wanted to be with my children. What people don't see is the sacrifice,” she said. Beyoncé revealed she would go back to her trailer to breast-feed her twins in between rehearsals, BuzzFeed reported. "It was a lot to juggle," she said. "It's not like before when I could rehearse 15 hours straight. I have children, I have a husband. I have to take care of my body."
16.Erykah Badu gushes over her little crew, which includes her son Seven Sirius Benjamin, 25, who she shares with André 3000, and daughters Puma Sabti Curry, 20, who she shares with The D.O.C., and Mars Merkaba Thedford, 15, who she shares with Jay Electronica.
"When I first had the baby, I was breastfeeding for two years straight," Erykah said. "So we were together for two years of his life – every day, all hours of the day. So I was two people, and I eventually morphed back into one. Now he’s part of me. He’s very independent as a result of it. I thought it was going to be the opposite."
17.Halle Bailey and DDG welcomed their first child together, a baby boy named Halo, in December 2023.
We love the honesty!
Do you have a breastfeeding story to share? Tell us all about it in the comments!