The Corrie actress, who has two kids with footballing fiance Scott Sinclair, 29, opened up about the difficulties she overcame to nurse her first-born daughter Matilda for eight months in a candid blog post.
The 28-year-old, who is currently breastfeeding her youngest, Delilah, born in June, wrote: “My boobs have dropped and changed a lot from breastfeeding but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I'm proud to have fed my child myself and my bonding experience with my baby is far more important than what my body looks like."
Helen, who's played Rosie Webster in the soap on-and-off since January 2000, shared the post on Instagram – alongside a pic of her make-up free, with her hair scraped back and glasses on.
She wrote: "I am obviously no expert at all on breast feeding and I have not found breastfeeding easy both times so wanted to be honest about my experience with other mums."
In the blog post Helen, who lives in Glasgow with Celtic star Scott, revealed she would "dread" feeding daughter Matilda, now three, because she was so worried about doing it wrong.
Helen wrote: “(It) was really stressful the first two weeks. I was told by the midwives at the hospital and the midwives with my aftercare at home that Matilda wasn’t latching on properly.
Helen ended up giving Matilda a couple of bottles of formula milk, while practising her latching technique at home.
She added: “I was also totally freaked out that Matilda was going to be okay with just my colostrum (the first form of milk after giving birth).
“I know it sounds ridiculous and irrational but I actually thought she was going to pass out and I'd be at the hospital.
“I felt so anxious. I also felt so responsible for this teeny tiny baby, which of course I was, who was so unbelievably precious to me, I was just so anxious.”
Happily, Helen did master the technique – although she went back to the bottle when Matilda started growing teeth.
Helen also revealed Delilah's birth this summer left her "snappy" and tearful.
She said: “The first week of Delilah been born I was just really quite snappy and stressy which I felt really bad about.
“You're more emotional as well and hormonal with your milk coming in, I remember being quite teary around day three.
“I was just really worked up and anxious about Delilah being okay and if she was feeding well.
“It was only until I could see my milk flowing after about seven days that I relaxed.”
Helen has now gone dairy-free to try to ease Delilah's colic, drinking coconut or soya milk and avoiding cheese altogether.
In more breastfeeding news, this dad's sweet video of baby daughter sucking on his nipple is branded ‘disturbing’… so is it OK for fathers to comfort nurse?
While this furious mum was forced to stand up for half an hour to breastfeed her baby as NO ONE on packed train offered her a seat.
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