A young mum has hit back at trolls who constantly tell her she’s disgusting and looking for sexual attention by openly breastfeeding her two-year-old daughter.
Shania O’Neill, 18, from Blackpool, fell pregnant at 16 with her daughter Isabella, and gets cruel and sexualised comments about her choice to breastfeed when she shares her journey on her TikTok account.
She posts there stating all the reasons why she shouldn’t have to cover up.
College student Shania doesn’t care where she is and will feed Isabella whenever she needs to, whether it be in the supermarket, on the bus, in a restaurant, or a shop, and doesn’t feel the need to cover up with a blanket either.
Despite comments from men asking for a turn and women telling her she’s doing it for sexual attention, Shania doesn’t plan on letting the crude remarks stop her and says how much of a bond she has gained with her daughter since breastfeeding her.
Shania O’Neill constantly receives comments telling her she’s disgusting and looking for sexual attention by openly breastfeeding her daughter
She had her daughter Isabella at 16 and wasn’t planning on breastfeeding, but said that her decision to breastfeed is behind the strong bond that mother and daughter share
Posting her breastfeeding journey online, Shania will often get comments telling her she makes people uncomfortable, while men detail how they pleasure themselves over her videos.
She explains: ‘I’ve learned to brush the comments off, their opinions are irrelevant. You wouldn’t tell a woman feeding with a bottle to cover up the bottle.
‘I’ve had comments such as men asking to be my stepson, they’re jealous of my baby, and comparing it to being the same as masturbating in the street.
‘I don’t get why people think it’s me looking for sexual attention and making it sexual, I am just doing something so natural that was seen as normal 60 years ago.
‘I get so many comments online about what men do when watching my videos. As well as people saying how uncomfortable it makes them. I’m sorry feeding my daughter makes people feel uncomfortable.
‘Men also say it makes them hard watching my videos. I can’t believe it, boobs are for feeding babies. It’s a natural thing.
‘The comments online are the worst, everyone is against it, but in public, I’ve had quite a few positive comments, and people will come up to me and say well done but I’ve learnt to brush the comments off.
‘One time I was out in public and I was feeding Isabella and someone came up to me and told me to use a blanket and cover up as they didn’t want their child to see what I was doing.
She fell pregnant at 16 with her daughter Isabella and never planned on breastfeeding, but she’s sure it’s created the close bond that mother and daughter now share
As a young mum, Shania found motherhood difficult at first because she was the only one in her group who had a baby and felt that her friends didn’t want to be around someone with one
‘My baby comes before others so I don’t let it affect me. I did cover-up at the start as I felt uneasy and it was hard with a blanket because I had to keep checking every two seconds underneath it so now I don’t use one at all and it’s much easier.
Falling pregnant at 16 whilst on the pill, Shania didn’t know what to expect, and certainly didn’t think she was going to breastfeed, especially not in public, but now she openly shares her breastfeeding online with her videos getting millions of views.
‘When I fell pregnant I was scared, I didn’t know what to do as it was very unexpected as I fell pregnant on the pill. I never planned on breastfeeding, but when I did, it completely changed me.
‘I would always think about how I was going to do it in public, but the more I went to the midwife and after speaking to my mum, I realised I wanted to do it and I’m so glad I did it.
‘It’s created such an amazing bond, when she was born I didn’t feel an attachment to her as I had four-day labour and I was in so much pain. I didn’t want to hold her at the start but when she latched on to me it was such a different feeling.
‘They do say as well they breastfeeding reduces postpartum depression by 50%.
‘It was quite hard as when I had just had her I didn’t have many friends. None of my friends had babies and they did want to be around someone with a baby, but I have now adapted to motherhood and have found other mums.
‘That’s what breasts are for’ – Shania doesn’t hesitate to breastfeed wherever she is, whether in the supermarket or the shops or elsewhere
‘It could be anywhere; the tram, bus, a restaurant, I could be pushing the pram in a shop and I’ll feed her wherever we are.
‘It’s a natural thing. 60 years ago there was no formula that’s what breasts are for. Now it’s so normal to bottle feed.
‘Being a young mum is challenging and harder than I thought, so older women think they can have a say over my child because I’m so young.
‘Men say things such as ‘Can I have a turn’ and I never reply but if I do, I will just say that boobs are for feeding babies and I will ignore them. I would recommend for mums to just go into it without a care in the world, your baby comes first.’
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