Beyonce and husband Jay-Z are famously secretive about their private lives, having refused to acknowledge their relationship for a long time in the beginning. But Beyonce decided to open up her family album on Tumblr this week, giving everyone an insight into the couple’s very private world. And there's one image in particular, which shows mom feeding 7-month-old daughter Blue Ivy with a bottle, that has been causing a lot of buzz.
“At the end of the day, we know that breastfeeding is best for babies, and is especially important among black women, but Beyonce did breastfeed and now she is also bottle feeding which is just fine,” says Kimberly Seals Allers, breastfeeding advocate and founder of parenting website MochaManual.com.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding exclusively for six months, and breastfeeding with foods for one year.
“Unfortunately, people always have something to say about something. And the media loves to see moms in a catfight. I don't like that,” Kimberly says. “Talking about 'good' or 'bad' doesn't help anyone. Would I want to see Blue Ivy exclusively breastfed for one year? Absolutely. Am I mad at Beyonce for breastfeeding first and now bottle-feeding? No.”
Beyonce confirmed to People magazine that she breastfed her daughter for the first 10 weeks and was even reported to have nursed Blue Ivy at restaurant Sant Ambroeus in NYC's West Village when she was seven weeks old.
