"Selling Sunset" star Heather Rae El Moussa is not shying away from sharing her breastfeeding experience, opening up on social media about her previous misconceptions and what has unfolded since she and her husband, HGTV star Tarek El Moussa, welcomed their son at the end of January.
"As promised, I want to talk to you guys about my breastfeeding journey because it's definitely been a journey !!" the new mom wrote in the caption of an Instagram post on Monday. "I thought…. I'll just pop him on my boob and feed him anytime. Ya no!!!"
El Moussa revealed her son developed complications including tongue-tie, making it "very hard for him to latch" and breastfeed, causing him to lose weight quickly, not to eat enough and develop jaundice or yellowing in the skin.
"I had many tearful nights in the beginning because I'd be up at 3am trying to feed him & felt so defeated," El Moussa wrote in part.
MORE: HGTV star Tarek El Moussa and Heather Rae Young welcome their first baby
Also known as ankyloglossia, tongue-tie is a condition where a child's tongue is restricted by a "tight frenulum," or the fold between the underside of the tongue and the floor of the mouth, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
"For breastfeeding, the tongue needs to be able to extend enough to allow a good latch to the breast. In some children, a tongue-tie may limit the ability for the tongue to move and will make latching more difficult, painful or affect the transfer of milk," pediatric otolaryngologist Dr. Anna K. Meyer explained in an educational video for the AAP and American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology, adding that it's a common cause of breastfeeding problems.
Cheek and lip ties are similar but affect the fibrous tissue in the cheek area and near the lips, affecting and sometimes hindering movement in those areas of the face.
The AAP estimates up to 10% of people may have some form of tongue-tie and in babies and children, it can affect feeding, oral health and speech development and cause social anxiety. Treatment for tongue-tie may include minor surgery, also called a frenotomy, frenulotomy or frenectomy.
Aside from opening up about her experience, El Moussa also shared her advice for other parents in her Instagram post on Monday.
"You really have to remember to take care of yourself," the 35-year-old wrote in part.
MORE: Ashley Graham shares why she stopped breastfeeding her twin sons at 5 months oldBreastfeeding can have numerous benefits, according to the AAP, including a lower risk of various health conditions such as asthma, respiratory infections, childhood obesity and diabetes for children and benefits for mothers such as a decreased risk of menstrual blood loss, hypertension, arthritis, cancer and Type 2 diabetes. Experts generally encourage babies be breastfed and the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends infants 6 months and younger be exclusively breastfed, a guideline supported by both the AAP and the World Health Organization.
However, not every parent may be able to breastfeed their child or may face different challenges and obstacles to breastfeeding, so doctors also recommend formula and bottle feeding when breastfeeding is not possible or not working out.
