Model, Nicole Trunfio, empowered moms in her own way. She posed for a magazine where she was seen as calm as her breastfeeding baby, but far from romanticizing it, she talked about all the complications she had to go through to reach that level of confidence and serenity whenever it was time to feed her son — something she decided to do on her own.
“The whole process was so painful for me. I had bleeding and chafing nipples, scabbing; it was hard! And I had no idea why!” the model revealed. “I was so committed. I just really wanted to feed my child so desperately. It got to the point where I couldn’t feed him at all anymore because I was in so much pain. I had a fever. I felt like I was going to die,” she added. She also spoke about the social stigma that still happens when breastfeeding in public places:
“Everyone has their own opinions about it. Some think that it’s a private moment that you should share only with your child. Some think it’s a cultural thing. But I think mainly; it’s the sexual side of it. A woman’s body is so sexualized. So a woman can be in lingerie on a billboard with her breasts protruding out of a bra, but a mother who’s fully clothed and being discreet can’t breastfeed her child?
I think breasts need to be seen as non-sexual things. They need to be seen for what they’re there for: feeding a child. In society, we’ve made women into this visual thing that’s used to sell. As a model, I can say that I use my body for that. I use it to sell products: clothing, lingerie. But we need to find that balance as a culture. Hopefully, one day, when a woman is breastfeeding, she won’t be met with embarrassment and judgment.”
