Khloe Kardashian couldn’t sustain breastfeeding ‘with a minimal milk supply’

New parents Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson step out for a late lunch!

A few days ago, Khloe Kardashian told the world that she had already stopped breastfeeding two-month-old baby True Thompson. I admired the fact that she was so open about it, because it often feels like a “dirty little secret” that some women can’t breastfeed or don’t want to for other reasons. The Motherhood Industrial Complex has made it into such a massive issue especially. Well, now “sources” are speaking to People Magazine about exactly what went wrong when Khloe tried to breastfeed:

Despite wanting to breastfeed daughter True, Khloé Kardashian recently revealed she “had to stop” because “it wasn’t working for my body.”

A source tells PEOPLE that although the new mom, 34, attempted to breastfeed her daughter, she had to supplement with formula because she couldn’t produce enough milk.

“She always planned to try and breastfeed — and she did — and just followed what worked for her and her body,” the insider says. “With a minimal milk supply, she just couldn’t sustain it.”

Another source explains why Kardashian decided to publicly come clean about her difficulties with nursing.

“Khloé always wanted to breastfeed as long as she could. Before True was born, she was really excited about it and about having that bonding experience,” says the source. “She had to supplement and was worried people would judge her but then realized she wanted to be open and honest. She was very aware of being healthy and keeping up her supply as much as she could. She ate enough food, she drank a ton of water and she eased into working out, so that she didn’t overdo it. Bottom line is that Khloé is such an amazing mom to True. She’s a natural. And she’s going to stay focused on that and not listen to people who criticize her for any reason.”

[From People]

Yeah, I don’t know of many women who are like “I will NEVER breastfeed!” Almost every new mom tries, and sometimes it just doesn’t work out. That’s life. Every woman’s body is different, and many women find it difficult to produce milk. Formula isn’t the devil’s nectar, for goodness sake. I wish the message was more along the lines of “listen to your body and do what you think is best.” But then how would moms judge other moms?

Tristan Thompson takes Khloe Kardashian to Joey Restaurant

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

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62 Responses to “Khloe Kardashian couldn’t sustain breastfeeding ‘with a minimal milk supply’”

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  1. JustJen says:

    Mom judging is vicious. When I had my daughter, I couldn’t produce enough milk and had issues latching on..so then I got guilt tripped about having a c-section. Because apparently doing so suppressed something that stimulates milk production…

  2. BaBaDook says:

    I will never judge someone for not breastfeeding, however sticking around after Tristian cheated on her while she was very very pregnant I will side-eye til my dying day.

    • Char says:

      I believe the bigger problem, aside moms judging moms, is that we all know Khloe isn’t a very honest person.
      She lies about her body constantly, so my first thought was, and I’m ashamed of that, she was lying for vanity.

    • Alissa says:

      I was just going to comment the exact same thing.

  3. aang says:

    If you can afford formula, have access to clean water and can’t/don’t want to breast feed then don’t. I feel bad for her if she wanted to and can’t, it really is a lovely experience, but bottle feeding is bonding as well. New moms need support not judgment.

    • Snazzy says:

      “new moms need support not judgment” – YES!

    • josephine says:

      I’d feel bad if it didn’t feel like a super-contrived story line to bait the public.

      • SlightlyAnonny says:

        This. It’s just Khlogre’s new angle for attention – Beleaguered New Mom. WAG, “Tell it like it is sistergirl”, and Great Beauty weren’t working out for her. No one would know this (or care), if she didn’t tell us and most people still don’t care.

      • DrM says:

        X2. Breast feeding would seriously interfere with her ability to follow Tristan around (to make sure he isn’t cheating…) and go out clubbing etc. Nothing wrong with not breast feeding. But don’t talk smack about WHY you chose not to. I would bet a paycheque that minimal breast milk had nothing to do with it. She would have been find if she’d just said my choice or something like that.

    • Meghan says:

      I was never thrilled at the thought of breastfeeding, and then of course the lactation nurse came in grabbing me and basically demanding I pump so that wasn’t pleasant. But my son was 4 weeks early and I wasn’t producing milk yet so he was having formula anyway. I didn’t produce a lot of milk so at 3 weeks we switched to formula completely which was so expensive.

      My point is that I wish Khloe didn’t feel the need to run to clarify her story. She should be able.to say “I didn’t want to do it, my baby is being fed. The end.” You do you, girl.

  4. Lexilla says:

    Actually the Mommy Complex is not so judgy about this now. “Breast is Best” has become “Fed is Best.” I suffered low supply and battling through that to breastfeed my baby was the hardest, most emotionally draining thing I’ve ever done. This sh*# ain’t easy. We all do the best we can for our babies.

  5. Swack says:

    My youngest had breast reduction and didn’t try because she wasn’t sure if she would be able to or not. So she formula fed to make sure her babies got the nutrition they needed. I wonder how much Khloe’s implants interfered with her ability to produce milk. I know it is possible but wonder how the placement and size of the implants may impede milk production.

    • Lisa says:

      It actually doesn’t at all. I’ve had multiple friends with implants who have breastfed for 1yr+

      • cee says:

        LOL my best friend got implants when she was 18 years old and breastfed her son for over 2 years. So no, it doesn’t interfere.

  6. megan says:

    If she didn’t lie about so many other things in her life, I would believe her about this.

  7. Tanesha86 says:

    Even if she didn’t try it’s no one’s place to judge, as long as her baby is healthy and well taken care of no one can say anything. Her relationship with TT though, a MESS.

  8. manda says:

    I had to have formula for the same reasons, and I grew up healthy and strong! And I would imagine that formula today is better than formula from the 70s. She told me she felt like a failure though, and this was before mom shaming was a thing 🙁

    • Jay says:

      Same. My mom couldn’t produce even though she wanted to so me and my brother are formula babies. Who cares?? Mom judginess is the worst! All bodies are different and people are doing their best!

  9. keroppi says:

    I really wanted to breastfeed but just couldn’t get a good supply. I had to start supplementing with formula because my son had lost so much weight by day 3. I also have PCOS which I think affected my ability to produce breastmilk. I felt like I had to justify why I was using formula. It was like, please don’t beat me up about it, I already felt like a failure because it wasn’t working. But after breastfeeding, pumping, taking medication to lactate and eating everything I could to increase supply, I finally had to concede because it was seriously affecting my bond with my son. Now we are both happy and healthy and have a terrific bond!

    • smcollins says:

      My experience with my daughter was pretty similar. She was a good latcher but my supply couldn’t keep up with her demand. I was producing a lot less than I did with my son (who had latching issues so I had to pump then bottle feed him) and she lost a fair amount of weight in the first week. I used supplemental formula along with whatever milk I was able to produce. I tried power pumping to try and get my supply up but it didn’t work. At around 3 months I gave up and switched solely to formula. I felt guilty but knew that as long as she was fed & healthy that’s all that mattered.

    • Kim says:

      Your story is the same as mine. Our LO lost over 10% of her birth weight within 2 days because I wasn’t producing milk and was told I need to give her formula while in the hospital. I also have PCOS. I worked with several lactation consultants, hospital grade pumps etc. One breast would only produce a few drops at most. I felt incredible guilt.
      After a major infection I was told to pump and dump and not latch LO, and use solely formula due to the medication I was on to treat it. After that LO wouldn’t latch. I continued pumping whenever possible at most getting about 1 oz. That continued for about 5 months. Charting around pumping equipment to work to bring home *maybe* one oz after pumping several hours at work was madness.

  10. Millenial says:

    I agree that fed is best, and if a mom simply doesn’t want to or can’t breastfeed for any reason, that okay, but I do side eye this sympathy seeking narrative.

    • Babs says:

      Well me too but I also get it as a mother who didn’t want to breastfeed. It’s a hard stance to take. It’s like not breastfeeding is allowed only when you tried to and it didn’t work. You can see it il the article and also in the comments.

  11. My Hiddles says:

    I never had enough milk for either of my kids, but I still nursed them both for 6 months each and supplemented with formula. I wanted to nurse for at least a year, but it just wasn’t in the cards for me.

    On the plus side, I had a much easier time weaning than most woman and I never “leaked”.

    • Megs283 says:

      I was able to exclusively bf my now-toddler, but I was always stressing about my supply, and I also never leaked. However, my 14-week has an incredible appetite and she’s very impatient! I’ve been supplementing more and more. Not gonna lie, I kind of like hearing about Khloe’s struggles right now!

  12. I’m With The Band says:

    I found from personal experience that the Sanctamommies are usually women who had no issues with breastfeeding and who seem to think they’re the benchmark for all women.

    I was adamant I’d exclusively breastfeed but a combination of a traumatic post-partum surgery and a lack of education about supply and demand put paid to that. I ended up mixed feeding and always felt judged if I pulled out formula in public. I pumped day-in/day-out until my son was 8 months old. It was at this point that I realised (a) I was spending far too much time worrying about breastfeeding (b) I wasn’t spending enough time with him and (c) fed is best.

    Every woman wants the absolute best for their child. Every woman needs support.

  13. JennyJazzhands says:

    These revelations are funny to me. Just last month while she was hocking a baby product, she said she didn’t need formula.
    They lie so much, I’ll never be able to take them seriously when talking about a topic people can actually relate to.

    • Kitty says:

      Actually, she said a few weeks ago that she was supplementing with formula because her supply was very low. She never said she didn’t formula

      • JennyJazzhands says:

        Yes she did. It made absolutely no sense (because she was obviously lying) but she said she didn’t need formula.

      • Kitty says:

        She said she breastfeeds but always have to give her baby a bottle afterwards because she doesn’t produce enough to satisfy the babies hunger. She was advertising a thing that helps mix formula.

      • JennyJazzhands says:

        Which is why it was so bizarre for her to say she didn’t need it. It was a complete contradiction lots of posters here pointed out that she was talking out of both sides of her mouth. Like, I supplement but I don’t NEED formula. It’s weird, it’s a lie, makes no sense but she said it.

  14. MaryContrary says:

    I was a breast feeding drop-out, and I never felt judged from anyone else. I felt judged from myself. At the beginning you’re trying to do everything “right”, and when it doesn’t work out the way you’d planned and hoped, plus you’re hormonal, it just feels overwhelming. Later you realize that whether you had the perfect labor and delivery, or how you fed your baby, has ZERO to do with your parenting skills and your relationship with your child.

    • Lisa says:

      Yes, exactly. The overwhelming feelings at the beginning are just the worst. When you look back, things weren’t so terrible, but they sure felt like the end of the world.

  15. Livethelifeaquatic says:

    I “quit” after 3 months. I would feed, pump, pump some more and only would get maybe 2-3 mL off each breast MAYBE. My mom gave me a huge guilt trip, and I know she really regrets that because my daughter is now 3, and healthy and none of that crap matters

  16. Justme says:

    I was able to breastfeed with no difficulty. Even after a C-section, my daughter just latched on and started to feed. I never judged anyone else, but I got a lot of judgement from other women, who had bottlefed and felt that there was no way my daughter could be getting enough milk just from me. They also sneered at the fact that I was sort of feeding nonstop for the first few months – “you should give her a bottle for heavens sake!” Anyway she grew rapidly and was never sick. So I just ignored them – as women who are not able to produce enough milk should ignore anyone giving them shade. Got enough to worry you when you are new mother!

    • nelya says:

      the lack of milk production doesnt even exist , i wonder how humanity did to survive millions years

      • jwoolman says:

        Babies died. Nestle was a Swiss pharmacist who worked to develop a good formula precisely for babies who couldn’t get milk from their mothers – either she was sick or dead or just not producing enough milk.

        It was a real problem throughout the ages. People who could afford it hired lactating women (“wet nurses”) to feed their babies. But a lot of babies not so lucky died from malnutrition, even though attempts were made to feed them in various ways.

  17. Wooley says:

    I had to supplement with formula the first day of LO’s life bc she wouldn’t stop crying. My milk never came in enough and she was starving and eventually I stopped bc it was stressing me out so much and not worth how much time it was taking up for how little I produced. What sucks is that I just got a bill from the hospital for a $470 pump that my insurance won’t cover. I know it’s my fault for not callling my insurance prior but I just had a baby and was out of it and the nurse made it seem like it would be covered! Do I have any options? The same pump is $270 on the medala website and targets. Hospitals shouldn’t be allowed to over charge so much.

    • Megs says:

      You should call insurance and question that, I thought a few years ago with the ACA all the pumping supplies had to be covered (with the chosen model of pump). Both times I had my husband go to the hospital store and they worked with my insurance company over that phone and got the pump and supplies that were to be covered, with both births. So call your insurance provider! Good luck!

  18. Puffsmom says:

    I would have more sympathy for her and find her struggle more relatebale if she wasn’t busy pushing her diet teas and meal replacement shakes on her IG shortly after giving birth.

  19. GreenBunny says:

    I had a breast reduction when I was in my early 20’s so I was never sure I would be able to breastfeed when I got pregnant with my first. And you’re inundated with all of this information about breast being best and breast fed babies have higher IQ’s, which starts to get to you when you’re not even sure if you have a choice. But then I looked at my family and realized my dad, who was born during the 50’s when no one breastfed, so he was only fed formula, had grown up and became a pediatric emergency room physician and is one of the most intelligent people I know. Then I looked at my BIL, who was only breastfed and is a high school drop out, and realized that breastfeeding is only a tiny tiny percent of what makes a child intelligent and successful, so i relaxed and let nature decide. The most important thing is a fed baby is a happy baby.

  20. savu says:

    Tina Fey talks about this in her book (like 10 years ago before this was such a widely discussed topic). Specifically the “Nipple Nazis” and how they reacted when she said she wasn’t breastfeeding anymore. Her advice? Tell them you adopted. Their heads will explode because they no longer have the moral high ground, and can’t judge you for not breastfeeding.

    How sad is it that that’s more comfortable than “eh didn’t work out”? Ugh.

  21. Alyse says:

    People grow up to become healthy human beings whether they take breast or formula milk. Saying that, I don’t think we needed to hear this. Uptake of breast feeding is really low in Western countries, espescially amongst uneducated young women. We know that young women are put off because feeding affects the look of their breasts afterwards, because of societal/peer pressure or because their partners are weird about it – because breasts are seen as sexual. Whilst there are plenty judgy mums who will look down at you if you bottle feed, for young women they’re more likely to choose to bottle feed due to pushy boyfriends, images of women with perfect breasts and their own low self esteem and self worth.

    • Megs says:

      Yes, In total agreement!

    • Babs says:

      Breasts are mostly ruined by the pregnancy though. I never breastfed once and my breasts are far from what they used to be. Some people just don’t want to do it whatever the reason and that’s ok, stats be damned, I mean who cares about the uptake of breastfeeding?

  22. jwoolman says:

    This is a woman who tried to pass off bakery pies as ones made from scratch by her own two little hands. Who knows what really happened. Khloé is in competition with Kim in many ways, including for the Pants on Fire Liar Award.

  23. Lisa says:

    I was stuck in a hospital because my insurance only allowed for that. The hospital pediatrician wouldn’t let me leave after 24 hrs because “no one wants to prepare to go home at nighttime.” Then instead of resting, I take us to the only available person, a PA instead of my normal Ped who said if my baby doesn’t gain weight by tomorrow, she’s gonna send me to the hospital. My milk hadn’t even come in yet! Everything was so high stress at that time, I cry thinking about how calm things are now and how I wish I could’ve breastfed. How I could’ve just said No and gone home, relaxed, & let my milk come, but everything’s so scary. You’re killing your baby if you don’t do this or that. Is it just me? Our culture? Our country?

  24. artistsnow says:

    No, it is not our place to judge. BUT she is deceiving the world and I am SO tired of it. We have to go along with her game getting us to believe that baby came out of her belly instead of realizing that this woman is too VAIN to admit she did not want to carry a baby. We are not fools but it is SO easy for a celebrity to carry on in their false game of pretend this is my partner, pretend this baby came out of my body. Please stop. There is NOTHING TO BE ASHAMED OF IF YOU DECIDE TO ADOPT TO HAVE SOMEONE ELSE CONCEIVE YOUR CHILD.

  25. Mabs A'Mabbin says:

    I love reading all these comments and commend everyone. Smug mothers are truly the worst. There’s pros and cons to everything including breastfeeding. I breastfed three boys and had different issues with each. But each one was a full-on oinker. They loudly, and embarrassingly, ate non-stop. I produced so much milk that it was painful every single time they cried, coo’d or made any sound at all. I couldn’t go out in public unless my bra was made of kevlar covered in neoprene. I soaked everything. If I simply leaned over to pick something up, tie shoes, or what-the-frak-ever, I’m telling ya…Niagra Falls. I took so many hot showers a day for relief and drainage. I tried to use some for freezer storage, but that only made more. I was a lactating bovine on call 24/7. Trying to schedule feedings was a joke. So whether we can’t produce, perfectly produce or could feed a third world country, we should support each other!

  26. Bridget says:

    It’s interesting how people immediately believe anything this woman says. Is it just because this time she’s giving the “right” message?

  27. MidwestGirl says:

    Yeah, I decided I didn’t want to breastfeed before my first child was born. I didn’t want to, so I did not even try. My mom was in a nursing home and I was responsible for that, my husband works long hours, I was going back to work full time and I don’t have a tribe/village. So I didn’t want the extra stress, I knew how to bottle feed. I could afford formula so that is what I did. I did not and do not give two poos what anyone thinks of this. My kids are healthy, smart and loved. That is all that matters.

    • noway says:

      Now this is funny, I did breastfeed cause it was easier. I didn’t let the crazy lactation ladies bug me, but my sister-in-law said it was easier, and it was for me at least. No warming bottles and going to the kitchen. Just let the baby go to town. It was cheaper too, but I say to each her own. I find it bad women feel they have to defend their choice. Depends on your situation, your body and your baby. So much other things to worry about can’t believe people care so much about whether other women breastfeed.

  28. Lauraeparis says:

    I’ve been a Breastfeeding Peer Counselor for over 25 yrs and the biggest misconception about breastfeeding is the mom not “making/having/no milk coming down” enough milk supply. It’s the baby who brings “down/makes” the milk supply. Breastfed babies are fed on demand not put on a schedule, the more they feed the more milk there is. Simple as that. Yes, there are babies who have trouble latching on because they were given a bottle first, their little tongues keep getting in the way, etc, and there are solutions for all that and more to have successful breastfeeding. It’s also not supposed to hurt, it hurts when the baby only latches on to the nipple and not the areola (where the milk is actually made). I am not saying you have to breastfeed everyone does what is best for themselves and their babies. I am just clarifying some misconceptions because there has always been so much misinformation and not enough breastfeeding consultants.

    • Kitty says:

      Not everybody is the same, my sister had to supplement with formula and went dry when her son was six months, and not for lack of trying. She had consultant, she pumped, she did everything that was supposed to help and it didn’t. My milk never came in after colostrum, I tried and tried but just didn’t produce any. My mom had to use formula with her kids because she didn’t get her milk..it happens.

    • noway says:

      There are several medical reasons for low or no milk supply or delayed lactation, which is not always just the baby has latching issues due to using a bottle earlier. My baby never had a bottle and took a long time to learn to latch. She wasn’t a preemie, but she was early and according to both the pediatrician and the obgyn this wasn’t uncommon. Yes it hurt for a few weeks till she got the hang of it, but it was easier after that. Still traumatic births, excessive loss of blood or fluid during childbirth, preeclampsia, diabetes, even a heavier child can cause low milk supply or delayed lactation it’s in the journal of medicine and most pediatricians and obgyn will tell you this. Sure these conditions probably don’t affect as many people as claimed, but who knows. I did breastfeed my baby for a full year, but I don’t judge anyone who doesn’t cause you don’t really know the reason why.

  29. Source says:

    There’s usually a distinct lack of milk when you were never pregnant in the first place.

    Perhaps the real mommy can step in and help her out?