Helen Flanagan admits feeling 'mummy guilt' after she stopped breastfeeding

Soap actress Helen Flanagan has admitted she feels “mummy guilt” over her decision to stop breastfeeding her daughter Delilah after just 13 months.

The 28-year-old Coronation Street star had her second child with Celtic footballer Scott Sinclair in June last year.

Their first child, Matilda, turned three years old in June.

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Flanagan took to Instagram to explain her decision to stop breastfeeding, but said she feels guilty about doing it.

“I made the decision to stop feeding my baby after 13 months this week and it was the right decision for me but not always easy,” she wrote.

She added: “I also wanted to get Delilah sleeping in a cot as me and Scott needed to get our bed back after finally getting Matilda into her own room aged four.

“I didn’t know how I was going to do it as I’ve always hated my babies crying as it makes me really anxious.

“I’m going to write a blog this week coming on my website when I’m not so sleep deprived about hormones, periods returning after feeding and mummy guilt.”

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The NHS recommends that babies should be breastfed exclusively for the first six months, with mothers then able to decide how long to continue feeding alongside solid foods.

Flanagan also revealed to her followers that she has been suffering from mastitis this week.

The condition is a painful inflammation of the breast issue which is common in mothers, particularly within the first few months of breastfeeding.

Flanagan made her debut on Coronation Street as Rosie Webster in January 2000 and starred in her own spin-off series Just Rosie in 2011.

She left the cobbles in 2012 and, later that year, appeared in the 12th series of reality show I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here.

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Flanagan returned to the role of Rosie in 2017, but took a hiatus in order to allow her to take maternity leave.

She recently announced that she will be returning to Coronation Street soon.