Lesbian couple stirs controversy for both breastfeeding their baby

Same-sex couple Claire and Steph Eden-McIlroy are the proud new parents of a beautiful baby girl, LJ. Although Claire is LJ’s biological mother, her partner Steph trained her body into lactating so she can help Claire breastfeed — something that most people didn’t even know was possible.

You may remember the Australian couple’s bold photos posted to social media as they took turns breastfeeding little LJ (who is now two months old). They recently appeared on the Australian program “This Morning” to share their story.

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“I started pumping really regularly and I took a lot of fenugreek, breastfeeding tea, breastfeeding biscuits, and as many natural things as I possibly could,” Steph told the “This Morning” hosts. Toward the end of Claire’s pregnancy, Steph took an anti-nausea drug called Domperidone — it’s also used to stimulate lactation and typically given to mothers with low supply.

“So I’ve been taking a really low dose of that just to boost my supply towards the end,” Steph beamed. “Our bodies are amazing!”

The couple says that they received assistance from a lactation consultant, who showed them the basics of hand expressing, or manually expressing breast milk. The very first time Steph “hand-expressed” she was able to get a few drops of milk; Claire was about 20 weeks pregnant at the time.

“I don’t know why my body was able to do that,” Steph said. “I’m just lucky and I’m connected to my partner.”

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Steph’s partner thinks it runs even deeper: “Being in a same-sex relationship, she understands things that are happening in my body,” Claire said of Steph. “And potentially that connection was something that made it a bit easier for her.”

After LJ was born in January, Claire took about five days to let her milk come in. After that time, Steph started feeding.

“At the moment she does two feeds a day, so one in the morning before she goes to work,” at around 4 a.m. Claire notes, so she can get a bit of extra sleep at that time. “And then the other one she does in the evening when she comes home from work, so it could be 6 or 7 p.m.”

While Steph feeds, Claire has time to take a shower, get dinner started or just have a few minutes to herself (something any new mom would certainly appreciate).

Social media reaction was mixed, but most users seemed to support the doting moms.

“The people saying this is ‘unnatural’ and ‘wrong’ should wake up and realize it’s 2017 not 1930, it’s their baby not yours,” one woman adamantly tweeted.

“It’s great for the family, I’m just taken back as I didn’t realize you produced milk unless you were pregnant … #ImUneducated,” another Twitter user admitted.

Some questioned the safety on the child: “Sorry thats a no go the child is receiving mixed milk is that normal? The mother carries all the nutrients. #healthpriorty1st.”

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The main reason Steph decided to help breastfeed was so she could provide for LJ in the way that a mother can.

“It’s something that’s really important for me to be able to do what a mom does and to be recognized in that way,” Steph said, noting that if little LJ cries she can help comfort her and if she’s hungry she doesn’t always have to pass her over to Claire. “It’s a beautiful time for us and I could see that (LJ) feels that closeness with me too.”

Sweet! Let us know what you think by tweeting @YahooStyleCA!