Mila Kunis’ words of encouragement to new moms are important for doula students.

In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, actress Mila Kunis opened up about a few topics that our doula students should find of interest: pregnancy and breastfeeding. Kunis is currently pregnant with her second child with husband, Ashton Kutcher. Their first baby, Wyatt is currently 21 months old.

While promoting her new movie, Bad Moms, Kunis got personal about her experience nursing Wyatt in public, but said that she respects every woman’s right to choose how she feeds her baby. Her words offer encouragement to moms and are a great reminder to doula students as well:

“I support every woman’s choice in what she wants to do and whatever makes them happy, but for me, I did nurse my child and I literally breastfed everywhere.”

Kunis lamented the fact that she would often get dirty looks when she breastfed her daughter in public, stating how unfortunate it is that even in 2016 we still “sexualize the breast the so much”. She went on to say “Why did I do it in public? Because I had to feed my child. She’s hungry. I need to feed her whether it’s out of a bottle or out of my boob, no matter where I was.”

At the International Doula Institute, doula students are taught that one of the most important aspects of being a doula is to remain non-judgmental. This means that doulas support women no matter how they choose to birth or parent their babies, regardless of their own feelings on the matter. They recognize that every family and every baby is different. What works for one family, may not necessarily work for another.

Therefore, doula’s will support their client’s decision to breastfeed just as readily as they will support their decision to formula feed. Our doula students leave our courses knowledgeable on all aspects of baby care and know how to help the families they serve effectively achieve their goals.

Just as Kunis said, “[We] support every woman’s choice.”

Author: Aliza Juliette Bancoff

Aliza Juliette Bancoff is a well-known doula and doula trainer who has been providing doula services to families for over a decade. She is the founder of Main Line Doulas, a doula group providing doula support in the great Philadelphia area for the last decade, the International Doula Institute, which provides online doula training and lactation training and certification programs and  the International Breastfeeding Institute which provides lactation training and certification.   She is the co-founder of United Birth, a company devoted to increasing access to doulas across the country to make the perinatal time safer both physically and emotionally. “Every birthing person deserves access to quality doula support. And we are working to make that a reality across the country. The work we are doing to get doulas to every birthing person will decrease the black infant and maternal mortality rate significantly by 2030.” Says Bancoff. Aliza is known for her compassionate and empowering approach to doula work, and she has been featured in numerous media outlets, including United Nations Maternal Health Report,  Parent Magazine, CafeMom, theBump and many more. Aliza's journey into doula work began when she gave birth to her first child and felt a strong calling...