'I breastfeed my sister's baby - people call me disgusting but I don't care'

30 January 2024 , 13:26

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Emily Boazman nursing her sister Katelyn's daughter Kyan (Image: Courtesy of Emily Boazman / SWNS)

A mum has divided opinion after revealing that she breastfeeds her sister's young child. Emily Boazman, 33, has hit back at trolls who have called it 'weird' or 'disgusting', stating that it's a 'special' act she can do for her family.

Emily started nursing her sister Katelyn Urioste's baby girl, Kyan, now six months, when Katelyn, 36, fell sick a month after giving birth. At the time, Emily was still nursing her son, Keen, now 18 months, and producing milk and was able to breastfeed Kyan while babysitting or when Katelyn was at the hospital.

Emily - who also has daughters, Crew, eight, and Knox, five - previously nursed Katelyn's twins, NavyKate and Grey, both six, when her sister struggled with her milk supply.

Emily shares three children with husband Jake (Courtesy of Emily Boazman / SWNS)

Katelyn and her family following Kyan's birth (Courtesy of Emily Boazman / SWNS)

She believes it is "healthy" for a baby to have breast milk from two women, saying it provides them with double immunity. Emily, a stay-at-home mum, from Clovis, New Mexico, US, said: "It's special. We're so close. It's not weird to us. Somebody feeding your baby a bottle seems weird. People will say 'it's disgusting' or that it is 'creepy as hell'. It was the norm hundreds of years ago - we had wet nurses. It's looked at as weird when it was the most natural thing. It's just feeding a baby."

Katelyn, also a stay-at-home mum, agreed: "I had no doubts about Emily breastfeeding - it feels completely normal to me. We're sisters, we're close, it's like she's breastfeeding her own child, honestly. Anyone who has had a baby knows how exhausting postpartum can be. To have someone able to step in and feed your baby and give you a little break, it's very nice.

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"Not everyone will ever be on board with any one topic, and this is no different - so comments don't bother me at all. At what point did it become such a taboo subject and why? Breastfeeding is very natural, why is it considered so weird to feed someone else's baby?"

Emily first breastfed Katelyn's twins when she struggled with her milk supply after their birth in 2017. "My sister had lost a lot of blood and she really struggled with breastfeeding," Emily recalled. "I nursed her twins once or twice. My daughter was 18 months and I was still nursing her. My eldest sister had already nursed my eldest daughter. It wasn't weird to us."

After Katelyn had a traumatic birth on July 4, 2023, and almost lost her life, it was a no brainer for Emily to step in to help breastfeed her daughter. Emily said: "She nearly died during the birth. Her placenta had gone into her uterus. She lost three litres of blood. But she was OK. She was producing good. She really wanted to nurse her."

Then, when Kyan was a month old, Katelyn developed Clostridium difficile – a gut infection – which left her "exhausted" and in and out of hospital. Emily said: "She was exhausted so I nursed her baby a few times then. I'd watch the baby and all the kids and if she cried I'd just feed her. It's easier than worrying about getting a bottle."

The family are incredibly close - Emily second from left, Katelyn, far right (Courtesy of Emily Boazman / SWNS)

Emily Boazman nursing her sister Katelyn's daughter Kyan (Courtesy of Emily Boazman / SWNS)

Emily and her husband, Jake, 42, a chief deputy district attorney, are also currently living with her sister and her husband, Mike, 31, an electronic engineer – while they are having their own house remodelled. It made it easy for Emily to help out and nurse the baby when she was needed – but says she doesn't do it very often now.

Emily says she didn't have a conversation with Katelyn before breastfeeding her baby – and it was something that came naturally. She said: "I started seeing that she was struggling and I just said 'I'll nurse her'. It wasn't like a whole big conversation. It was very natural."

Emily, who was a labour and delivery nurse for 10 years, says being breastfed by two women can even be healthier. "It's very healthy. In fact it gives the baby double immunity. Each mum is tailored to her baby and has specific immunity needs. They nurse on two different people and it's even healthier."

She does admit her husband and Mike were a little taken aback when she first nursed Katelyn's twins. She said: "At first I think they went 'what the heck?'. I think because they grew up different he probably never saw that level of closeness. It was a little foreign. Now they are over it."

Emily hopes to normalise the idea of nursing other people's babies. "I hope it becomes normal. I think so many people have done it but feel afraid to talk about it."

Gemma Strong