Dad Shares Pic Of Himself Breastfeeding To Encourage Other Dads

A dad shared a picture of himself breastfeeding his child in the hope it would inspire other dads to follow in his footsteps.

You might notice think men are lacking certain parts of anatomy which allow them to breastfeed – including the ability to produce milk – but that hasn’t stopped father Maxamillian Neubauer from taking on the challenge.

I mean, he didn’t succeed in producing milk, but he did the next best thing – and it includes wearing a fake nipple.

Maxamillian’s wife, April Neubauer, planned on breastfeeding her child after giving birth, but was unable to do so, but still desiring to breastfeed, the nurses at the hospital offered the couple the option of using a supplemental nursing system.

According to Insider and lactation specialist Betty H. Greenman, a supplemental nursing system is a ‘feeding tube device for breastfeeding assistance’.

The device is usually offered to mothers who struggle to breastfeed, as it allows them to ‘be able to feel and share the closeness of [their] baby by doing lots of skin to skin contact.’

Maxamillian, who’s from Wisconsin, shared photos of his breastfeeding experience on Facebook, explaining there were complications in his child’s birth that led to him donning the fake nipple and breastfeeding his child.

Maxamillian’s post read:

Due to complications during Aprils emergency c-section. This super rad nurse made a epically killer offer, and I was fortunate enough to slap on a suction cup fake nipple. [sic]

Being the first to breast feed da baby!!!! “I did it for the moms” Eat your heart out!! [sic]

Maxamillian also wrote an article for Love What Matters, explaining his story:

A nurse came out with our beautiful baby girl 7lbs 15 oz. 19 inches long. She said we needed to get her a little formula and do some finger feeding; other options and such. Just something to get her started.

Then she asked if maybe I would like to throw a nipple on and do some ‘real breastfeeding.’ Me being a big joker and the ability to try just about anything once, I said sure, why not.

I felt a connection the minute I saw my little girl. I got to hold her and help her get used to breastfeeding I hope. I really did it just to be a good dad

Maxamillian added he hoped his actions would inspire other dads to be open to breastfeeding.

He said:

I really hope it encourages dads to step out of the box.

The system was offered to the Neubauers by nurse Cybil Martin-Dennehy, who mentioned the positives of the option for fathers, adding how Maxamillian was the first dad who’d ever taken her up on the offer.

She said:

Prior to this going viral even I told Maxamillian this was the highlight of my career, finally having a dad say yes.

I think we jumped up and down in excitement, Max was such an amazing sport about this. I feel like he was equally excited to be the first Dad to say yes.

People always think that breastfeeding is something that only women can do, but what people don’t realize is that their partner’s support plays a tremendous role in a successful breastfeeding journey

People praised the father for his actions, leaving positive comments on his post.

One person wrote:

Beautiful. When you are a parent you have to feed your children by any means necessary.

Another added:

I believe this is fantastic. The skin to skin contact is so important at Birth. The breastfeeding part is also great as it shows the baby how to start sucking a nipple and having skin to skin contact

A third said:

Good for you! That’s a Dad doing what needs to be done for his family. The bonding that you have had with your daughter is priceless. I hope your wife is doing well!

What great parents!

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