Geri Halliwell deals with the wet effects of nursing

Former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell made waves in the UK this week when she told OK! Magazine that pregnancy and nursing made her look like a porn star. After gaining three cup sizes with the pregnancy and birth of her daughter Bluebell Madonna, now 6 months, she said, "During pregnancy my boobs went massive – I looked like a porn star! Having babies can be a breast-wrecker, but because I’ve worn really good bras my boobs seem to be OK. [Breastfeeding] really helped me get back in shape – you can actually feel the uterus pulling back into place."

After nursing Bluebell almost exclusively the first six months of her life, Geri has decided that it’s time to close up shop after she experienced some leakage incidents. "At the beginning I felt like a complete milk machine. I think it will be nice to get my body back to myself. I had to plan carefully if I wanted to go out because my boobs would start leaking everywhere which was embarrassing. I was having a business meeting with quite an attractive man and I left the meeting and noticed there was a massive white patch on my blouse. I was so embarrassed."

Did your breasts ever leak at any particularly embarrassing times when you were nursing?

Source: The Sun

Thanks to CBB readers Mary Beth and Lyn.

Comments

Morgan on November 30th, 2006

I remember when I went back to class after having my daughter, I was giving a presentation and it wasn’t until I sat down after I was finished that I felt how moist my shirt was; the entire front was soaked. Luckily I had a sweater I could put on until I got home, but I was still mortified!

Bel on November 30th, 2006

Why didn’t she just wear breast pads??

barbi on November 30th, 2006

If she was anything like me. There was no breastpad that would hold them. I leaked through them all.

Fynn on November 30th, 2006

I wore two breastpads at a time and leaked through. While nursing on one side, I’d completely SOAK two or three pads on the other side and still have milk when my son was ready to switch sides. Some friends didn’t need breastpads at all. It’s different from woman to woman, I guess.

kaylee on November 30th, 2006

I’ve heard that mothers who are nursing will start to leak when they hear a baby cry, even if it isn’t their own.

Any truth to that?

Jen on November 30th, 2006

I was one of those women that would start leaking all over the place when I would hear a baby cry! And breastpads didn’t really work; I’d soak through them.

Fynn on November 30th, 2006

Kaylee: Yes, it’s true. I also leaked when a thought of my baby nursing would flit through my mind–business meeting or not!

Kim on November 30th, 2006

I leaked like no one’s business but the Lansinoh pads worked wonders for keeping the milk in them for periods of time. Overnight I’d wake up and be soaked through but as long as you change them every so often, no big deal. I never really noticed if my milk came in more when a baby was crying because I was constantly flowing anyway!

LaMama on November 30th, 2006

With my first baby, I soaked my breastpads, but never had a visible leak. With my other children, my body adapted and I didn’t really need to use breastpads, but I did anyway, just in case!

Lorus on November 30th, 2006

I used thick nursing pads and still soaked through those while nursing my daughter on the other breast. I never leaked while hearing her cry but if I smelled something that had her scent I’d have an immediate letdown.

Danielle, CBB Publisher on November 30th, 2006

I never leaked at a particularly embarrassing time but it’s never convenient to leak through to your shirt in public. Also, when the milk dries, it typically left a mark on my clothes (though it washes out) so there was frequently that tell-tale sign!

Lansinoh were my favorite pads too (I liked how they were individually wrapped but easy to open too) but in the early days I would have to change them twice a day and then wear a fresh set at night and I wore them all day long, not just when I was nursing. I had fabric Bravado pads too which I would have rather worn all the time but when those got soaked, the wetness would go all the way through, wetting my bra and shirt. I wore them at night when it didn’t matter as much.

I only recently stopped wearing nursing pads! I never expected to wear them that long. Every time I bought a box of 60, I thought, maybe this will be the last box I need so maybe I should get the smaller box. But then I would end up buying another box and another. I wish they sold them bulk at BJs! Next time I’ll investigate thinner reusable pads for when I just leak a little. My lactation consultant recommended cutting up wash cloths so I’ll probably try that.

It was so weird not to wear them. I only leak occasionally, like if I’m nursing and I haven’t nursed from the other side in a while.

Disposable nursing pads are like diapers- the milk activates a gel.

I never experienced letdown when I heard other babies but then again, I have never felt letdown so I might have after all!

Lorus on December 1st, 2006

I think it’s sad that she’s quitting breastfeeding because of leaking.

Tere on December 1st, 2006

My boobs leaked non-stop for the first 9 months of my son’s life. NON-STOP. I lived in nursing pads.

Samantha on December 7th, 2006

Am I the only person who thinks this woman sounds like an idiot? What the hell does a bra have to do with her breasts not being “wrecked” or whatever. I can’t believe she stopped breastfeeding because of the whole “I want my body back”. It’s sad when mothers somehow think it’s still all about them. WAHHH I leak WAHH I can’t do everything I want to do all the time. Christ sake this is why selfish women shouldn’t be mothers period.