A Pennsylvania mom posted a clever sign alerting hospital staff she won't be breastfeeding for a very good reason. (Photo: Getty Images)
While breast may be best, as the saying goes, not everyone can breastfeed.
And hospital staff, in out of a new mom’s room, will inquire about breastfeeding. Repeatedly. A new mom and cancer survivor knew this and alerted hospital staff with a stunning, pink sign.
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Attention please, attention please. We do indeed have a mommy-to-be who had breast cancer and a mastectomy which means, without boobs in the houseeeee! Got the banner raised just in case people are confused at why we are NOT going to be breastfeeding our little bundle of joy. Yes I have foobs, no I do not have boobs (or nipples) therefore… my body is incapable of breastfeeding:) -sign was made by me!!!!!) ? thank u @japalelis for the inspiration! #breastcancer #pregnancy #thebump #bump #babybump #pregnant #survivor #thriver #breastcancer #breastcancerawareness #pregnantafterchemo #pregnancydiary #pregnantbelly #photography #38weekspregnant #inducedlabor #laboranddelivery #formulafeeding #breastfeeding #breastfeedingmama #banner #breastfeedingbanner #nobreastfeeding
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Meghan Koziel, 29, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, told ABC News that she got the idea from one of her followers on her Instagram page as she was preparing to give birth.
The sign is titled, “No Breastfeeding Zone,” and features this poem:
“Though breastfeeding is a very special task.
Please be aware before you ask.
Our miracle baby will be formula fed,
And it will not affect her future ahead.”
“I wanted it to be pink and sparkly because that’s how I am, and I think coming up with the poem was less intrusive,” Koziel said. “To tell them, ‘I don’t have boobs.’ They’d read the sign and laugh.”
Cancer and a dream of becoming a mom
Koziel was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2015. She was 26.
She underwent chemotherapy, radiation, a double mastectomy,and breast reconstruction, she told ABC News. She’s been cancer free since July 2017.
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#nationalcancersurvivorsday **When you beat cancer with a smile on your face* 2.5 years and still I #sparkleon
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Not long after, Koziel married her husband John and did an IVF for an egg retrieval to preserve a chance to have a child, since chemotherapy damages your ovaries, she said.
“I always dreamed of being a mom,” she said.
A fertility specialist recommended the couple try to have a baby naturally for six months.
In January 2018, the couple learned they were expecting. “It was the best day of my life,” she said.
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We are proud to introduce our little miracle princess Kendra Jane Koziel! Born: September 15, 2018 at 5:42pm weighing 6lb 7oz!!!! We love her already? #kendrajanekoziel
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The couple named the baby, born Sept. 15, Kendra Jane, which Koziel said is named after her oncologist, Jane Raymond.
“I want people to know that you can be sick, but you can still live a beautiful life. If your dream is to be a mom, there are options…you can find that love of life.”
Ahh… Looks like someone else is living a beautiful life too!
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She’s a sparkle natural!!!!!! #kendrajanekoziel #sparkleon
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