Here we go again
There are a lot of people who have passionate opinions about motherhood on the internet. Celebrity mothers such as Kim Kardashian West and Ciara have been mummy shamed for everything from their car seats to their holidays - and now Beyoncé is under fire for her date night with Jay-Z.
In a gallery on her Instagram account, Beyoncé posted two photos of her and her baby daddy Jay-Z out at a swanky restaurant, sans their new twins and Blue Ivy. However, it was the fact that she was photographed drinking a glass of wine that caused people to kick off about her drinking alcohol while breastfeeding.
One user wrote scathingly, ‘You can’t drink wine when you’re breastfeeding. What are you thinking?’
Another wrote, ‘You feed your children with your breast, so why do you drink?!’
It isn’t actually known if Beyoncé is or isn’t breastfeeding and to be honest, it’s not really anybody’s business. That didn’t stop people from jumping to conclusions in the comments though, with other users assuming that she isn’t breastfeeding at all and is instead using baby formula - another controversial subject in the mummy community.
‘Twins are in formula already? ?’ one user wrote.
While a few users slammed Beyoncé for drinking, many came out in support of the singer. A user said, ‘A glass or 2 won’t hurt the babies. And why is everyone assuming she is breastfeeding?’
Another user said, ‘Her babies and her breast, she can do what she likes! Who are we to judge.’
Even though it’s been proven that alcohol can affect breast milk, the occasional drink shouldn't be an issue. The NHS explains that it’s all about moderation, stating ‘an occasional drink is unlikely to harm your breastfed baby’ and recommending that mothers not go beyond two units of alcohol once or twice a week. Mothers can also breast-pump prior to drinking and feed their babies from a bottle, rather than breastfeeding after a tipple.
We also spoke with Jutta Wohlrab, a midwife and doula with 30 years of experience, and she explained, 'When breastfeeding, a zero alcohol policy is best adhered to - however you can occasionally indulge in one drink. It's all about timing really. Generally I would advise feeding first and then having a sip of champagne or glass of wine, you just have to take into consideration how long it will take your body to process the alcohol in your system. Having one drink when breastfeeding is definitely preferable than when pregnant, but never ever on a regular basis. In my opinion, you should ask yourself if you really need that one drink and is it of such great importance.'
In all honesty, we should give Beyoncé a break. We don't know the full context: whether she's breastfeeding, on formula, or if she pumped beforehand and it's her own business. In any case, all she probably wanted to do was have a nice, relaxing evening with her husband - she's just had twins, let the lady have a drink.
