Breastfeeding is beautiful, but it can be brutal at the same time. Cracked and bleeding nipples, engorged breasts, painful milk clots — it’s not for the faint of heart. When times got tough for Jenna Dewan, she turned to her mom network for help! She opened up about how the support of other women who’ve been through it was critical when she got mastitis while feeding baby Rhiannon.
The Step Up alum shared several raw photos of her breastfeeding journey with her 1-month-old daughter, who she shares with fiancé Steve Kazee. She lies in bed with an unbuttoned pajama shirt on in the first photo, with thinly sliced potatoes over her breast. In another, she relaxed with cold compresses. She also had a heating pad, a pump, and Epsom salts to help with her mastitis — all thanks to advice from other mamas.
“Now that I’ve survived mastitis I can confidently say… mamas I FEEL you. The amount of times I googled ‘will I ever feel better’ ????????????,” Dewan captioned the post. She also thanked everyone who reached out with suggestions, adding, “What an experience to show how powerful and supportive we can all be for each other.” Mom friends are truly worth their weight in gold, and we love how Dewan was able to pull from hers to help her through one of the most challenging issues that can arise from breastfeeding.
In her post, the professional dancer shared what worked for her, but of course, you should always consult with your doctor if you believe you have mastitis. For Dewan, she followed the advice of helpful moms and revealed that she used cold packs, cabbage, and potatoes to “treat inflammation”; hot Epsom salt baths “to help with the shaking (that part was honestly wild)”; Castor oil rubbed directly on her breasts with a hot pack over it; vitamins and supplements; antibiotics and ibuprofen; and nursing and pumping. She also rested as much as possible with a newborn baby and two older kids at home (she’s also mom to son Callum, 4, with Kazee, and daughter Everly, 11, with ex Channing Tatum). “REST (I know I know who can rest but even little naps helped)” she added.
“The boob flu (as one of my drs so accurately referred to it as) sucks! I had mastitis twice, it’s awful. ????????” one person wrote. Another wrote, “And you got through it!! ❤️ I remember the pain the sickness the exhaustion thinking I’ll never do this again.”
Even though she’s been suffering, The Rookie star is doing her best to soak up every moment with her baby. “Baby bliss with a side of mastitis,” she captioned a post last month, including several photos of her holding her baby, Dewan relaxing outside with her dogs, and baby Rhiannon getting all the cuddles from her older siblings.
Now that the pain is gone, hopefully Dewan can enjoy snuggling with her little lovebug even more. And maybe (fingers crossed!) she can score just a little more sleep now, too.
‘Life After Birth’ is a celebration of the postpartum experience — and through breathtaking photos and touching personal stories from parents, it sheds light on the entire spectrum of what that actually entails.
