Mum shocks with story of mother-in-law's breastfeeding demand

We all know the relationships between women and their mother-in-laws can often be an interesting one, but this story may be one of the worst yet.

A woman has taken to Reddit to share how her husband's mum, who is 70, has asked to breastfeed her two-month-old baby.

A woman has taken to Reddit to share how her husband's mum, who is 70, has asked to breastfeed her two-month-old baby. Photo: Getty
A woman has taken to Reddit to share how her husband's mum, who is 70, has asked to breastfeed her two-month-old baby. Photo: Getty

Apparently, the mother-in-law believed it would improve her bond with the baby.

“This 70-year-old woman plans to breastfeed [my] sister-in-law’s first baby that’s due in a six weeks,” the woman explained.

“She read that grandmas help breastfeed babies in some cultures and wants to give it a go.

“Now that she’s got this idea that she’s going to breastfeed ‘her grandbaby’, she’s started to come for me saying that she doesn’t want a stronger bond with one baby more than the other (my youngest baby is two months old).

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“And since he’s already here, she wants to start ‘practising’ breastfeeding with my baby. I can’t even.”

The poster continued, "She’d like for me to teach her how to breastfeed as well." She explained that her mother-in-law was unable to successfully breastfeed her own children.

The mother-in-law apparently plans on breastfeeding both babies at the same time, "Then since she’ll be breastfeeding these two children (who are not hers) it’ll be ok to have them for overnights and extended visits since she can feed them."

The poster continued, "She’d like for me to teach her how to breastfeed as well." She explained that her mother-in-law didn't successfully breastfeed her own children. Photo: Getty
The poster continued, "She’d like for me to teach her how to breastfeed as well." She explained that her mother-in-law didn't successfully breastfeed her own children. Photo: Getty

The mum questioned how, at 70, her mother-in-law was even going to be able to breastfeed in the first place, "This woman is a special kind of delusional. Can women that age really even re-lactate?" She later clarified that she wasn't shaming her mother-in-law for her age and not being able to lactate.

Commenters agreed the request was inappropriate.

"OP is completely justified in being weirded out by the request," one commenter wrote. "It's inappropriate and massively crosses the line. I could even understand it being reason enough to take a break from the relationship, considering her reaction to being declined."

"I can’t imagine many (any?) scenarios where I would want anyone other than my wife breastfeeding my son," another said.

“[This woman] is completely justified in being weirded out by the request,” someone else said.

“It’s inappropriate and massively crosses the line. But that should be the case, no matter [the] mother-in-law’s age.

“Having someone, anyone demand to breastfeed your child and get upset when you say no would be absolutely mortifying, regardless of whether it was someone on in their 90s or a fresh-faced 20-year-old.”

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