Hockey Mom Gets Tons Of Respect For Breastfeeding Baby Between Game Periods

Updated Nov. 19 2020, 9:54 p.m. ET

Because women's breasts have been so sexualized and America's got a seriously problematic and puritanical view on women's bodies, the image of a mother naturally breastfeeding her child upsets some people.

But even the stodgiest of prudes who can't stand the sight of moms providing their babies with sustenance, can't deny how incredible breastfeeding is. Yes, it's an act pretty much all mammals are capable of, but it's still amazing that a baby can grow and live purely off of milk that a woman's body naturally produces.

It's even more amazing when women don't allow the fact that they're "a mom now" get in the way of their other interests, pursuits, or activities. And Serah Small is one such mom.

Small's a teacher and hockey player from Alberta, Canada, who signed up for a late-March tournament because she was expecting to bounce quickly back from her pregnancy and get into the thick of things.

She quickly learned, however, that she needed a bit more time to recover:  “This weekend I played four games with a short bench and really learnt how different my body really is. I felt slower and lost at first on the ice. My body wasn’t doing the things my brain thought it could. But I have never been more proud of myself and my body."

She also discovered that she left her breast pump at home and during the game, she felt milk dripping from her breasts while she was skating out on the ice. Now if you, or anyone close to you, ever got candid enough about what it's like to nurse a child, you'll know that a chest engorged with milk isn't exactly the most comfortable feeling. You either need to pump and save the precious milk for later, or feed your child to give the two of you some relief.

So Small decided to simply feed her baby girl, Ellie, in between periods of the game, and it was in those moments that she gained a totally new appreciation of her body. Thankfully, Ellie's grandma was there to snap a few pictures of Small in the locker room, half in her hockey gear, feeding her daughter.

Initially, Small was afraid to share the picture, due to breasts being sexualized and considered "naughty" by some. 

However, because she loved the awesome photos, she allowed Milky Way Lactation Services to share it on their Facebook page. After seeing the outpour of support the photo received and the overwhelming number of shares, comments, and likes, Small embraced the beauty she saw in the pictures and posted them up on her own Facebook profile.

In an open letter on Facebook, she shared the mixed bag of emotions she had when finally deciding to post the photo, along with repping the fact that she's a #CanadianMama.

For Small, all of the attention she's receiving for the photo is a step closer to normalizing breastfeeding, because it is perfectly normal.

The response to Small's post has been overwhelmingly positive.

Other moms even began sharing their own bad-ass breastfeeding stories. Like this forest fire-fighter.

And there are tons of people who echoed Small's sentiment that yes, the oversexualization of breasts is indeed the problem, and not breastfeeding itself. 

Of course, people were more than happy to crack jokes, too.

Small's one of many moms to get props for embracing her breastfeeding. There was this Mama at Disney Land who had her husband snap a photo to "peep the haters" who weren't happy with her feeding her kid out in the open.

I mean, the park was designed for kids, and it's only natural for a kid to be accompanied by their mom, right? So why should mothers be ashamed of feeding them at an amusement park designed for children?

There aren't enough props in the world to give to moms, seriously.

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