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From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n
Your support makes all the difference.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRead more<\/span><\/svg><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nElsie Hewitt is opening up about the guilt she\u2019s felt as a mother after deciding not to breastfeed her daughter.<\/p>\n
The 29-year-old model, who welcomed her first child, Scottie Rose, with boyfriend Pete Davidson, 32, in December, wrote an essay for Elle<\/em> about feeding her daughter formula. She described \u201cexploring of the moral hierarchy around breastfeeding\u201d and feeling the \u201cquiet shame\u201d that\u2019s associated with formula feeding, as breastfeeding has been considered \u201cthe gold standard\u201d for mothers. <\/p>\nHewitt wrote that her unplanned pregnancy came after \u201cmany years of feeling disconnected\u201d from her body and living through \u201cyears of chronic pain\u201d prior to receiving a stage 4 endometriosis diagnosis. <\/p>\n
She said that when she decided how she\u2019d feed her baby, she thought about her mental and physical health, including her recovery from major uterine surgery for her endometriosis, as well as the \u201ctwo benign cysts in [her] breast that cause [her] discomfort.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cThere is inherent guilt in choosing not to breastfeed. My body is biologically programmed to nourish my baby, and opting out of that can feel like going against something ancient, instinctual, and profoundly beautiful,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Elsie Hewitt says she \u2018grappled with shame\u2019 about giving her baby formula instead of breastfeeding (Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\u201cThat guilt doesn\u2019t disappear simply because formula is safe, healthy, and nutritionally complete. I still have to remind myself\u2014and sometimes literally ask to be told\u2014that being mentally and emotionally okay is not separate from being a good mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although her family, friends, and comedian boyfriend told her that she could decide if she wanted to breastfeed or not, she still felt some \u201cguilt and pressure.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cWhenever people asked whether I planned to breastfeed, I felt a flicker of hesitation or embarrassment, even when nothing judgmental was said. Truthfully, I still can\u2019t always tell whether those feelings come from others or from me,\u201d she wrote. <\/p>\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Pete Davidson and Elsie Hewitt welcomed their daughter in December (@elsie \/ Instagram)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nHewitt explained that despite not breastfeeding, there is still an undeniable connection between her and her daughter. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere is already a visceral, kinetic bond between me and my baby\u2014formed through carrying her, birthing her, and sharing a body for nearly a year,\u201d she wrote. \u201cThat bond is sacred and grows through presence, not depletion.\u201d<\/p>\n
In December, Hewitt announced on Instagram that she and the Saturday Night Live<\/em> alum had welcomed their first child. \u201cMy best work yet, i am absolutely overflowing with love and gratitude and disbelief,\u201d she wrote, while posting several photos of her and Davidson with the then-newborn. She also included a message from her boyfriend: \u201cWu tang forever.\u201d<\/p>\nTheir baby\u2019s first name, Scottie, appears to be a poignant tribute to Davidson\u2019s father Scott, a New York City firefighter who tragically died during the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more Elsie Hewitt is opening up about the guilt she\u2019s felt as a mother after deciding not to breastfeed her daughter. The 29-year-old model, who welcomed her first child, Scottie Rose, with boyfriend Pete Davidson, 32, in December, wrote an essay for Elle about feeding her daughter formula. She described \u201cexploring of the moral hierarchy around breastfeeding\u201d and feeling the \u201cquiet shame\u201d that\u2019s associated with formula feeding, as breastfeeding has been considered \u201cthe gold standard\u201d for mothers. Hewitt wrote that her unplanned pregnancy came after \u201cmany years of feeling disconnected\u201d from her body and living through \u201cyears of chronic pain\u201d prior to receiving a stage 4 endometriosis diagnosis. She said that when she decided how she\u2019d feed her baby, she thought about her mental and physical health, including her recovery from major uterine surgery for her endometriosis, as well as the \u201ctwo benign cysts in [her] breast that cause [her] discomfort.\u201d \u201cThere is inherent guilt in choosing not to breastfeed. My body is biologica…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12636,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12635"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12635"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12635\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}