Fed is best
Not Every Mother Can Breastfeed. Why Don’t We Talk About That?
My new book Sabzi is out in the UK today! It’s a celebration of vibrant vegetarian recipes inspired by my travels, and my Persian and Pakistani heritage, and I’m so excited it’s finally out in the world.
Details of my book tour are here. If you are in the UK, please come – I’d love to connect in person ❤️
If you haven’t got your copy yet, you know what to do…
It should come as no surprise that, as someone who has published four cookbooks, food plays a hugely important role in my life. I love to eat, I love to cook, and I love to feed others. Sharing meals, for me, is about connection just as much as it is about comfort, and cooking for others is one of my most treasured ways to express love.
Before I became a mother, I had no idea that feeding my child would carry such high emotional stakes, bringing with it so much judgment, shame, and pressure. So this week, I’d like to share a deeply personal piece I’ve written for Vogue — to coincide with the publication of my new book — about breastfeeding and the undue pressures we place on new mothers. I slid into postnatal madness trying to breastfeed, to the detriment of my whole family. A year on, I’m a firm believer that there is no wrong way to feed your baby and that we must stop glorifying maternal self-sacrifice. Our babies thrive when we do.
I hope it resonates and if you know anyone going through this struggle now, please share and pass it on.
With love and solidarity to all the new mothers out there!
Yasmin x
Great article! Mother's milk is good for the baby, yes, but not if it comes from a stressed and exhausted mother, who feels guilty all the time. It shouldn't be a moral imperative.
Thank you for writing that article. The bit that really gets me even now is that midwives aren’t allowed to even tell you about combi feeding in the UK for fear that it’s promoting formula feeding. It’s completely ridiculous. I strongly believe that if I’d been more informed about combi feeding (and not made to feel like a monster for topping up with formula) for both my kids, I could’ve avoided post-partum depression. If mums are completely exhausted from triple feeding then they’re never gonna produce enough milk anyway!! Makes my blood boil how vulnerable women are denied vital information about their OWN bodies and babies!