Amy Schumer reveals why she stopped breastfeeding her son: 'This is not for me'

Amy Schumer has opened up about why she decided to stop breastfeeding her son.

The 38-year-old comedian, who is married to chef Chris Fischer, has been something of an open book when it comes to motherhood, regularly speaking about and documenting the birth of her son Gene Attell on 5 May 2019.

In her most recent interview on "Informed Pregnancy" – an educational podcast hosted by prenatal chiropractor Dr Elliot Berlin – the actor spoke candidly about her experience of breastfeeding and why she decided it wasn’t right for her.

Speaking to Berlin, Schumer explained that she wanted to ensure her son received as much colostrum – the fluid breasts produce in the first few days after birth, which is a highly concentrated in protein and antibodies – as possible.

So much so, that she even enlisted the help of a lactation expert.

“He didn’t latch and I just didn’t feel that push to make that happen,” Schumer explained.

After struggling to breastfeed, Schumer decided to pump her breast milk for the first month but admitted she quickly found it a tiresome task.

“I was like...'this is not for me.' I didn’t want to do it,” Schumer said.

“Some people just absolutely love it and I’m so happy for them. But it was just bumming me out...once it occurred to me that I could stop. I was like, ‘I’m going to stop’...and then every week I just took away one session of the pumping.”

The Trainwreck star went on to explain that she soon switched her baby to formula, specifically the German brand Holle, after tennis champion Serena Williams recommended it to her.

“It just has less sugar, and he did great on that,“ Schumer said, revealing that her son was meeting all his milestones.

The comedian added that that the decision to breastfeed is personal and wanted to remind new parents that there is no right or wrong approach.

“[There is] so much pressure to breastfeed but most of it is in your head,” Schumer said.

“You matter, and it’s going to be better for your baby that you’re okay,” she added.

“All generations were raised on formula.”

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) mothers should breastfeed their babies exclusively for the first six months. After this period, the NHS states that babies should be given breast milk alongside family foods for as long as mothers would like to help them grow and develop healthily.

However, recent advice from the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) stresses that new mothers should be respected if they choose to bottle feed.

“The RCM believes that women should be at the centre of their own care and, as with other areas of maternity care, midwives and maternity support workers should promote informed choice," said Gill Walton, chief executive of the RCM.

Elsewhere in the interview, Schumer talked about her son’s “really scary” caesarean birth.

“I was throwing up through the first hour of my c-section,” she said.

“It’s supposed to take about an hour and a half – mine took over three hours because of my endometriosis, and that was really scary.”

Schumer also described how her doctors were “amazed” that she was able to carry a baby to full term considering the severity of her endometriosis, which indicated “with no question” that she would need the c-section.

For more information and advice on breastfeeding, you can call the National Breastfeeding Helpline on 0300 100 0212 from 9:30am-9:30pm, or use the online web chat service here.