Emily Atack is a mother now so, naturally as most women know, absolutely anything and everything she does is subject to ludicrous online scrutiny. Mum-shaming is a beast few can avoid, particularly on Instagram. The latest incident? She posted a picture at a barbecue over the weekend, smiling while two-month-old Barney fit snugly inside a leopard print Momcozy carrier, holding what appears to be a glass of wine. Cue shock and horror. A mother, DARED to drink a glass of wine?! Wow, stop the press.
‘How are you drinking with a baby,’ one person commented. ‘Why drink with a baby?’ another parroted, saying ‘People think [drinking] is acceptable around baby's as its legal but to me it’s not she's holding a newborn baby alcohol should be the last thing in her hand.’
Thankfully, any of the comments about Emily drinking were swamped with fans defending her. ‘Probably because she hasn’t had one for nine months, you div,’ one commented. ‘You’d all be moaning if she left the baby to go out and drink lol so she can’t win like most of us mums can’t,’ another said.
Others pointed out that a lot of assumptions were being made here. ‘Any question of whether the wine could be alcohol free?’ one follower said. ‘Or did you just come on this picture to be judgemental? I personally think Emily, and the baby look content, happy and how they should be! And even if it’s not alcohol free, motherhood should not stop women from being able to socialise and live a normal life!’
Women with children are often subject to intense shaming when drinking with a new baby, particularly based around the assumption that they are breastfeeding. Not only is it unnecessary and invasive to question or shame any mum about her feeding routine (given many mums struggle to, or cannot at all, breastfeed anyway), the NHS advice is clear that drinking alcohol while breastfeeding is ‘unlikely to harm’ a baby as long as you follow certain guidelines.
‘An occasional drink is unlikely to harm your baby especially if you wait at least 2 hours after having a drink before feeding,’ the NHS website states. ‘To keep health risks from alcohol to a low level, it's safest not to drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basis.
‘If you do intend to have a social drink, you could try avoiding breastfeeding for 2 to 3 hours for every drink you have to avoid exposing your baby to any alcohol in your milk,’ the advice continues. ‘This allows time for the alcohol to leave your breast milk. You'll need to make sure breastfeeding is established before you try this.
The advice goes on to state that expressing milk before a social function is a good way to plan ahead. ‘Then you can skip the first breastfeed after the function and feed your baby with your expressed milk instead,’ it says. ‘Bear in mind your breasts may become uncomfortably full if you leave long gaps between feeds. You may feel the need to express for comfort. You do not need to express to clear your milk of alcohol. The level of alcohol in your milk will fall as the level of alcohol in your body falls.’
Of course, no one knows how Emily is feeding her baby, nor are they entitled to. Regardless, we can safely say that dogpiling a new mum for holding one glass of wine in a sweet Instagram picture is absolutely unnecessary.