Mum hits back at trolls who tell her she's disgusting for openly breastfeeding her daughter
After trolls called her 'disgusting' and accused her of seeking 'sexual attention' by openly breastfeeding her two-year-old, a young mum has finally clapped back.
Shania O'Neill, 18, from Blackpool, fell pregnant at 16 with daughter Isabella and made the decision to breastfeed.
"I never planned on breastfeeding, but the more I went to the midwife and after speaking to my mum, I realised I wanted to do it and I'm so glad I did," she said.
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"It completely changed me."
But, since becoming a mum, she admits she's received cruel and sexualised comments about openly sharing her breastfeeding journey on TikTok, which gets millions of views.
"The comments online are the worst - everyone is against it," she said.
She's received some stomach-churning comments such as men asking 'for a turn', to be her 'stepson' and detailing masturbating over the videos.
They've even compared breastfeeding to touching themselves in the street.
"Men say it makes them hard watching my videos. I can't believe it, boobs are for feeding babies. It's a natural thing," she explained.
"I don't get why people think it's me looking for sexual attention and making sexual comments."
Just like giving a bottle-fed baby their bottle wherever they want it, college student Shania feeds Isabella whenever she gets peckish - whether that's in the supermarket, on the bus, in a restaurant, or in a shop.
She added that she doesn't cover up with a blanket either.
"I've learned to brush the comments off, their opinions are irrelevant. You wouldn’t tell a woman feeding with a bottle to cover up the bottle," she said.
"One time I was out in public and I was feeding Isabella and someone came up to me and told me to use a blanket and cover up as they didn't want their child to see what I was doing.
"I did cover-up at the start as I felt uneasy and it was hard with a blanket because I had to keep checking every two seconds underneath it so now I don't use one at all and it's much easier."
But in-person comments can also be positive. She added: "I've had quite a few positive comments, and people will come up to me and say 'well done'."
Shania enthused about breastfeeding: "It's created such an amazing bond.
"When she was born I didn’t feel an attachment to her as I had a four-day labour and I was in so much pain.
"I didn’t want to hold her at the start but when she latched on to me it was such a different feeling."
She also points out the stat that breastfeeding can reduce the risk of postpartum depression by 50 percent, according to a 2014 study.
Shania concluded: "I would recommend mums just go into it, your baby comes first."
Amelia Jones