The first ad to explicitly show lactating breasts on network television will air during the Golden Globes Sunday evening.
Frida Mom — which sells postpartum recovery essentials — released an ad titled “Stream of Lactation” online this week, promoting a new line of breastfeeding accessories.
The ad follows exhausted women trying to nurse their babies and does not censor the women’s breasts in any way.
“Is it too early to contact a lactation consultant?” asks one mother in the ad, seemingly frustrated over a small amount of milk pumped from her breast.
“Am I bad mom if I stop now?” asks another woman. “Good moms should know how to do this.”
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In another scene, a mother can be seen trying to unclog a milk duct in the shower using an electric toothbrush. Another mom can be seen pulling cabbage leaves — which some women use to relieve breast engorgement — out of her bra.
“Whether starting or stopping, breastfeeding is an emotional and physical journey full of highs and lows that many new moms are unprepared for,” the company captions the video. “We’re lifting the veil on the challenges new moms (and their breasts) face as they DIY their way through lactation woes.”
A spokesperson from Alison Brod Marketing + Communications told Yahoo Life that this is “the first ad to show lactating breasts on television and the most breast ever shown in this prime time slot.”
A certified nurse, midwife, and Mayo Clinic spokesperson Jennifer Meyers said that the ad was realistic.
“Many moms feel very alone in their postpartum experience, while struggling with pain, fatigue, sadness and anxiety,” Meyers told Yahoo Life. “Breastfeeding adds another layer to that because it’s not always easy.”
“We also need more ads that show the uncensored female body to normalize breastfeeding,” she added. “Sadly, our society is comfortable seeing breasts barely covered up by a bikini top, yet a woman feeding her child in a restaurant is viewed as ‘disgusting.’”
Frida CEO Chelsea Hirschhorn added that “the reality is that women are blindsided by the physicality of breastfeeding — raw nipples, uterine contractions, painful clogs — no one tells you that it can be as painful as your vaginal recovery.”
“It’s all part of the postpartum physical experience, but it never gets any air time because the end supposedly justifies the means. The two don’t have to be mutually exclusive,” Hirschhorn added.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, on Parler @alana, and on Instagram.
