Louise Thompson blamed herself for not being able to breastfeed her baby
Louise Thompson has admitted she blamed herself for not being able to breastfeed baby son Leo.
The former reality TV star, 31, give birth in November, before spending five weeks in hospital due to complications – and she has documented her mental health struggles on social media ever since.
In a post on Instagram, the new mother can be seen holding her four-month-old boy while feeding him milk with a bottle.
Captioning the image, she wrote: "I think it’s important to highlight these sorts of experiences in an attempt to break down the stigma attached to bottle feeding."
Thompson continued: "The truth is – there are lots of women who can’t breast feed and many of those women feel racked with guilt because of what society sees as the optimal option."
Alluding to the near-fatal complications she experienced during labour, she revealed: "I remember being encouraged to breast feed after my first operation. My baby was practically thrown onto me.
"I was linked up to one of the 10+ blood transfusions I had and I was on quite a lot of meds and something about it just felt really gross. I was too ashamed to say no so I carried on.
"Then I experienced excruciating pain as my damaged uterus was contracting (and bleeding), but I was told to keep on going."
The star shared: "Anyway it turns out I did know my body pretty well because the pain turned out to be serious and I ended up in intensive care where I lost my milk anyway."
She noted: "There isn’t always a one size fits all policy when it comes to health (or raising a child for that matter). So you do you."
The former Made In Chelsea cast member went on to tell her 1.4 million followers that there were many health reasons why some women couldn't breastfeed, including hormone imbalances, diabetes, chemotherapy and premature birth.
Her post has received more than 103,000 'likes', with many social media users praising her for speaking out on the topic.
Davina McCall left a series of 'heart' emojis, while This Morning's Dr Zoe Williams commented, "when I look at this image I see a beautiful caring mother nurturing and nourishing her baby".
It comes after Thompson revealed how journaling was helping with her recovery from PTSD after experiencing a traumatic birth.
In late December, she shared that she had suffered "various serious complications" with Leo's arrival and was in hospital for several weeks after the delivery.
Without detailing exactly what happened, she revealed that medics had "worked through the night" to save her life.
