Olympian has perfect response after sparking debate over unique breastfeeding picture

Australian Olympic snowboarding champion Torah Bright has responded to the backlash she received after posting a photo of her breastfeeding her son on Instagram.

To mark her first mother’s day since giving birth to her son Flow with her husband and fellow snowboarder Angus Thomson, the 34-year-old posted a series of pictures on Instagram, captioned: “Becoming a mother has unleashed something inside of me.”

She continued: “My prayer for all mothers, now and in the future is that they be heard. Honoured. Respected and encouraged to trust their intuition.”

One image was an acrobatic one of herself doing a headstand while breastfeeding Flow.

Not everyone appeared to be a fan of the picture as she was trolled and criticised, with comments such as “Some things should be private” and “Exhibitionist much?” appearing underneath the image, reposted on Body+Soul Australia.

Bright hit back at the critics on Instagram who accused her of being an attention seeker and unrepresentative of other mothers.

She explained how her message behind the viral image was intended to be empowering and some people had taken it the wrong way.

In an Instagram story, she wrote: “Reading some of these comments made me sad.

“In my world, mothers should be each other’s cheerleaders (it’s hard enough). Embrace our quirkiness and finding the joy in every shitty thing that is motherhood.

“We all do it differently. It is not wrong or right. Motherhood is pure. I only now consider myself a Wonder Woman because I have joined the sacred MOTHERS club with you.

“Nothing but respect to all mothers.”

Torah Bright/ Instagram

The snowboarder also reiterated that the pose in the image “is not a sustainable breastfeeding practice” and said she doesn’t need validation from others.

She explained: “I’m not looking for praise. I never need strangers’ praises. I walk this earth to the beat of my own drum, led by my nutrition and search for love and joy … obviously.”

It is not the first unconventional breastfeeding image Bright has shared, as she also posted of photo of feeding Flow while riding a skateboard.