Martha Kalifatidis has shocked some of her 699k Instagram followers after sharing footage of her fiance Michael Brunelli helping to unclog a blocked milk duct.
The former Married At First Sight contestant welcomed the couple’s first child, son Lucius Brunelli, in late February, and in the weeks since has shared her experience with early motherhood on the social media platform.
In a video posted last night – captioned “So this was a new experience” – Brunelli could be seen assisting Kalifatidis after one of the glands in her breasts was not properly drained.
“You have got to suck harder than that. The baby sucks harder than that,” the 34-year-old can be heard telling Brunelli.
“It’s not one constant, it has to be, like, sucking.”
To which Brunelli, who is lying on the floor of their lounge room responds: “How do I suck harder than that? I got no strength in my suck.”
Ultimately the technique – dubbed “extreme” by some in the comments – pays off, with Kalifatidis eventually saying, through laughter: “OMG I can feel it empty.”
“You’ve got to breathe through your nose … you’ve really got to focus on the breathing more than any part of it,” she explained, before telling him, “Babe, I think we’ve done it.”
Many of Kalifatidis’ followers expressed that there “is no way my husband would of done that”.
“If my partner won’t do this for me I don’t want him,” another wrote.
There were inevitably those offended by the candid post, to which dozens of people jumped in to defend the couple, thanking them for “normalizing” the “helpful” method.
“The amount of times my partner had to do this!! Thank you for making me feel normal,” one wrote.
“Truly the best most real parenting content I’ve ever seen,” commented another.
While a third said, “This needs to be seen. Many times my partner had to go behind enemy lines and do what the baby or pump wouldn’t and this is the reality for some.”