If you've never attached a machine to extract milk from your body parts, you may not fully understand how badass this is.
Pumping breastmilk may seem like a no-big-deal endeavor to some, but as a mom who has breastfed three kids and pumped for a fourth, I can attest that it takes more than you might think. Time, energy, patience, the willingness to feel like a dairy cow, and the ability to relax enough to get a letdown while being strapped to an apparatus that looks like it belongs on a space shuttle are all necessary for a successful pumping session.
And here's Rachel McAdams, all decked out in designer digs, looking like a complete and total badass while pumping for her baby.
[rebelmouse-image 19397771 dam="1" original_size="940x690" caption="Claire Othstein/Instagram" expand=1]Claire Othstein/Instagram
It may appear totally foreign to those of us who pumped in sweatshirts on our sofas or in business casual in an office bathroom, but McAdams is working here, so more power to her. And the effect of the image is truly stunning. This is what I like to imagined I looked like while pumping—a powerful feminine force in matching vixen red lipstick and fingernails, donning a diamond choker that shines like justice.
Seriously badass.
Claire Rothstein, the photographer who shared the photo, called McAdams "just f*cking major." Yup.
Rothstein shared the photo on Instagram, explaining that McAdams was six months postpartum and breastfeeding her son. She wrote:
A million reasons why I wanted to post this picture. Obviously #rachelmcadams looks incredible and was quite literally the dream to work with but also this shoot was about 6 months post her giving birth to her son, so between shots she was expressing/pumping as still breastfeeding. We had a mutual appreciation disagreement about who’s idea it was to take this picture but I’m still sure it was hers which makes me love her even more. Breastfeeding is the most normal thing in the world and I can’t for the life of me imagine why or how it is ever frowned upon or scared of. I don’t even think it needs explaining but just wanted to put this out there, as if it even changes one person’s perception of something so natural, so normal, so amazing then that’s great. Besides she’s wearing Versace and @bulgariofficial diamonds and is just fucking major. Big shout out to all the girls 💪🏽
Rothstein also added, "Side note: I did not look anywhere near as fabulous as this when feeding/pumping. And that's ok too."
Indeed. This photo isn't meant to shame moms who don't don designer brands while pumping. What makes it so striking is the model-perfect styling mixed with real motherhood, bringing the former down to earth and the latter into a world frequently at odds with reality.
When we see celebrities breastfeeding or pumping, it helps normalize something that is...well...normal.
It seems a bit silly that the hashtag #normalizebreastfeeding even exists, since feeding a baby the way all mammals feed babies is pretty much the definition of normal. But since there are still the squeamish and illogical among us, breastfeeding does need some advocacy to be seen as the normal, natural, no-biggie-but-also-amazing thing that it is.
Kudos to Rachel McAdams for pumping on the job, and kudos to this photographer for capturing a moment that empowers moms everywhere.
