Fans of Millie Mackintosh have praised the star for opening up on her breastfeeding struggles.
The Made In Chelsea star, 32, revealed she has stopped breastfeeding her three-month-old daughter Aurelia after she was suffering with severe mastitis.
The condition causes inflammation and can lead to an infection of breast tissue. Often, sufferers deal with bad pain as well as swelling, warmth and redness of the area.
Millie admitted that every time she tried to feed her daughter she was left "crying in pain".
The mother of two also shares daughter Sienna, two, with her former TOWIE co-star Hugo Taylor and she uploaded images of herself alongside her youngest daughter on Instagram.
In one snap, the reality TV star can be seen in tears while trying to feed the tot, before another shows her holding a pack a frozen peas to her chest in a bid to stop the pain.
In the lengthy post, Millie told her 1.4 million followers how her breastfeeding journey had come to an end, bringing about mixed feelings.
She wrote: "I really felt the pressure during my first round of mastitis to continue feeding. After mentioning it on social media I was flooded with messages and although there was a lot of support with people sharing different remedies that could help, I really felt the pressure to just keep going even though I was literally crying in pain every time I needed to feed.
"There was one comment that really stuck with me, ‘it’s ok to stop too, it doesn’t make you a bad mum’ at the time I really needed to hear that."
She opened up on trying to combi feed, but revealed she once again had to stop when the pain became unbearable.
She continued: "Now Aurelia is purely on formula, at first there was a bit of resistance whilst we found the right bottle and teat size, but now she is feeding well and we’re getting into a good routine.
"I still love the time spent feeding her, she clutches my fingers, pulls me close and stares into my eyes, I still feel just as important to her."
Millie said she takes her hat off to those who keep fighting through the pain, calling the experience "one of the hardest things I've ever done".
Fans were quick to respond to the post with positive comments.
One wrote: "This will benefit soooo many people - well done for sharing."
Another added: "Good for you. In no way does it make you a bad mama. We have to look after ourselves too".
And a third said: "I couldn’t agree more with everything you said! I have 3 kids and I tried my absolute best breastfeeding which didn’t come very naturally to me and the truth is me and my babies was the most happy when the bottle appeared and that’s ok. Well done you."
