Woman’s husband told her stop breastfeeding so she could lose weight

'He’s willing to sacrifice what's best for his baby to satisfy his needs...wtf?'

Symtoms include sore, inflamed breasts, milk-duct discharge and body shakes (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

An Australian woman seeking advice on how to deal with an unsupportive partner has revealed her husband told her stop breastfeeding so that she could lose weight, and unsurprisingly the internet isn’t happy.

Sharing her story anonymously on the online forum Breastfeeders Australia - which has more than 30,000 members – the woman explained that her husband hates that she’s still breastfeeding because it’s stopping her from getting her pre-baby body back and is making their son “act like a girl.”

“My husband wants me to stop breastfeeding my son,” she wrote.

“We have daughters together, but he makes fun of my son when he cries for me, and says things like 'he's such a girl.'

“My husband also thinks I should stop breastfeeding because he says it's stopping me from losing weight. He isn't open to the idea of talking to a professional about this.”

The since-deleted post quickly attracted responses from hundreds of outraged members, among which was an ‘expert’ who weighed in with some ideas as to why her husband was behaving this way.

Gina Haitidis, who has a masters in both social work and forensic mental health majoring in child psychoanalytic psychotherapy said: “Based on what you have chosen to disclose I would say that he is possibly unsure of his role in your family dynamic and relationship.”

“Your third child is a boy and he as a father possibly has had fantasies surrounding the relationship he would have with his son. It appears (most likely because your son is still very young) that you are living out your husband's fantasies, but he is not. This could make him somewhat jealous and insecure.”

She also added that the comments about the woman’s weight might have been in response to something she had already mentioned.

“If you yourself have mentioned weight loss in the past, then this might be a way of him trying to persuade you in a positive supportive light (although it might not come across that way),” Haitidis said.

Others however weren’t quite as sympathetic towards the husband and quickly jumped to the mother’s defence, branding her partner “insensitive” and “a bully.”

“Wow...! You carried three of his children & now your body continues to nourish them & he can only concentrate on the weight it gained whilst working such miracles?!" one person wrote.

Another agreed adding, “The only thing she needs to quit is her arse of a husband!”