Jennifer Metcalfe has revealed her struggles with breastfeeding after becoming a mum last year.
The Hollyoaks actress gave birth to her first child, a baby boy called Daye, in June of 2017.
She breastfed for a month, she said, but found it “really difficult”, especially as Daye had colic in the first few months.
She says new mums shouldn’t feel bad in they have trouble breastfeeding.
“I did breastfeed Daye for about a month and my boobs are not quite the same,” she told The Mirror.
“I found it really difficult and I managed it for a month because it gives your baby a good start but I can see how it’s not for everyone and mums shouldn’t be made to feel guilty if they can’t.
“I found it agony and I know some mums find it really natural but Daye was more settled on the bottle and I don’t think I was getting enough milk.
“The early days is just a killer. Daye had colic and really bad reflux. It was hell on earth for about eight weeks and nothing I did ever helped.”
Jennifer feels “lucky to be a mum” after her little man almost died in a traumatic birth.
Midwives realised during labour that the there was a knot in his umbilical chord and that it was wrapped around Daye’s neck.
“They say it happens to one in 100 babies in the womb and that they usually die.
“I am lucky to be a mum.
“You don’t really realise how precarious the labour can be and what can go wrong, so I thank my blessing that he is here and has just turned one.”