Mother praised for sharing photo of her breastfeeding during ice hockey match

‘I have never been more proud of myself and my body’

A mother has been praised for sharing a photo of herself breastfeeding her baby during an ice hockey match (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Mothers have no way of timing when their babies require sustenance.

Whether they’re at home, at the park or in the middle of a sporting event, as soon as their baby is showing signs of needing a feeding, duty calls.

A mother has shared a beautiful photo on Facebook showing her breastfeeding her baby while in the middle of an ice hockey tournament, proving just how hard mothers constantly work to care for their children.

Serah Small is a teacher from Alberta, Canada and mother to an eight-week-old daughter called Ellie.

Small has always been very active and so assumed that her body would be fighting fit shortly after giving birth.

However, she didn’t anticipate how difficult it would be to pick up exercise again following pregnancy.

“I have really struggled with accepting my new body as I have always had that athletic build,” she wrote on Facebook.

“I have played hockey my whole life and when I found out I was pregnant I signed up to play in two tournaments in March trusting that my body would just ‘bounce back’.”

However, playing ice hockey again was a lot tougher than Small had anticipated.

“My body wasn’t doing the things my brain thought it could,” she wrote.

While this may have been the case, Small felt an immense sense of pride over her ability to be able to feed her baby when she came off the ice.

“But I have never been more proud of myself and my body,” she wrote. “I felt my milk come in and leak as I played and between periods I would strip down to feed my eight week old babe.

“Being a mum is absolutely amazing and I’m so happy I got to do something I absolutely love while still meeting my babies needs [sic].

“Our bodies are amazing and this weekend was the first time I truly appreciated mine.”

Small was initially apprehensive about sharing the photo as she was afraid of receiving a negative response.

However, a lactation consultant helped her realise that she shouldn’t feel ashamed in the slightest.

“Although at times I feel the burn of judgemental eyes I feel more empowered than anything to be able to meet my babies needs the way my body intended [sic],” she said.

Small’s post has received an overwhelmingly positive reaction on Facebook with many praising her for doing her part to normalise images of breastfeeding on social media.