A young mother has hit back at trolls who constantly tell her she is disgusting and seeking sexual attention by openly breastfeeding her two-year-old daughter.
Shania O’Neill, 18, from Blackpool, got pregnant with her daughter Isabella aged 16 and receives cruel and sexualized comments about her choice to breastfeed when she shares her journey on her TikTok account.
She posts there with all the reasons why she shouldn’t cover up.
Student Shania doesn’t care where she is and will feed Isabella whenever she wants, whether it’s in the supermarket, on the bus, in a restaurant or in a shop, and has no need to hide with a don’t cover either.
Despite comments from men asking for sex and women telling her she does it for sexual attention, Shania isn’t about to let the rude remarks stop her and says how much bond she’s grown with her daughter since she got married. breastfed her.
Shania O’Neill is constantly getting comments telling her she is disgusting and seeking sexual attention by openly breastfeeding her daughter
She had her daughter Isabella at age 16 and had no plans to breastfeed but said her decision to breastfeed is the strong bond mother and daughter share
Shania posts her breastfeeding journey online and often gets comments telling her that she makes people feel uncomfortable, while in her videos men describe how they enjoy themselves.
She explains, “I’ve learned to brush off the comments, their opinion doesn’t matter. You wouldn’t tell a woman who feeds from a bottle to cover the bottle.
“I’ve had comments like men asking to be my stepson, they’re jealous of my baby, like masturbating on the street.
“I don’t get why people think it’s me seeking sexual attention and making it sexual, I’m just doing something very natural that was considered normal 60 years ago.
“I get so many comments online about what men do when they watch my videos. As well as people saying how uncomfortable it makes them. I’m sorry people feel uncomfortable feeding my daughter.
“Men also say they find it difficult to watch my videos. I can’t believe it, breasts are for feeding babies. It’s something natural.
“The comments online are the worst, everyone is against it, but in public I’ve had quite a few positive comments and people will come up to me and say, well done, but I’ve learned to brush the comments off.
“I was out in public one time and I was feeding Isabella and someone came up to me and told me to use a blanket and cover up because they didn’t want their child to see what I was doing.
She became pregnant with her daughter Isabella at age 16 and never intended to breastfeed, but she’s sure it created the close bond mother and daughter now share
As a young mother, Shania found motherhood difficult at first as she was the only one in her group to have a baby and felt that her friends didn’t want to be around anyone with a baby.
“My baby comes before others, so I don’t let it affect me. I did cover up at first because I was uncomfortable and it was hard with a blanket because I had to keep checking under it every two seconds, so now I don’t use one at all and it’s much easier.
Shania got pregnant when she was 16 while on the pill. She didn’t know what to expect and certainly didn’t think she was going to breastfeed, especially in public, but now she is openly sharing her breastfeeding online with her videos getting millions of views.
‘When I got pregnant I was scared, I didn’t know what to do because it was very unexpected when I got pregnant on the pill. I never intended to breastfeed, but when I did, it completely changed me.
“I always thought about how I would do it in public, but the more I went to the midwife and after talking to my mom, I realized I wanted to do it and I’m so glad I did.
“It created such a great bond, when she was born I didn’t feel attached to her because I was in labor for four days and was in so much pain. I didn’t want to hold her at first, but when she clung to me it was such a different feeling.
They also say breastfeeding reduces postpartum depression by 50%.
“It was kind of hard because when I first had her I didn’t have many friends. None of my friends had babies and they wanted to be around someone with a baby, but I’ve adjusted to motherhood now and found other moms.
‘That’s what breasts are for’ – Shania doesn’t hesitate to breastfeed wherever she is, be it in the supermarket, in the shop or elsewhere
‘It could be anywhere; the tram, bus, a restaurant, I could push the pram into a shop and I will feed her wherever we are.
‘It’s a natural thing. 60 years ago there was no formula that breasts are for. Now it is so normal to bottle feed.
“Being a young mother is challenging and harder than I thought, so older women think they have something to say about my child because I’m so young.
“Men say things like ‘Can I have my turn’ and I never answer, but when I do I will just say breasts are for feeding babies and I will ignore them. I would advise mothers to just go into it carefree, your baby comes first.’