Elsie Hewitt Explains Why She's Not Breastfeeding Her Newborn Baby With Pete Davidson

Elsie Hewitt is opening up about not breastfeeding her newborn daughter, Scottie Rose Hewitt Davidson, whom she just welcomed with Pete Davidson.

The 29-year-old British model and actress spoke out in a new interview with Elle about motherhood and her decision.

During the conversation, she spoke about feeling disconnected from her body, unplanned pregnancy, endometriosis, and much more.

Keep reading to find out more…

On feeling disconnected from her body:

“For years, my body has felt like it doesn’t belong to me. It belonged to an industry. To the gaze. To weeks spent barely able to get out of bed. To an illness. And then to pregnancy. My body has been looked at, assessed, consumed, and monetized. It has been poked and prodded and quite literally cut open.”

On her unplanned pregnancy and living with stage 4 endometriosis:

“My pregnancy was unplanned. I got pregnant after many years of feeling disconnected from my body, for a number of reasons. I work in an industry where my body has largely been my livelihood. Making a living based on the way you look creates a uniquely complex relationship with your body. On top of that—and more recently and relevantly—I lived through years of chronic pain, dismissal, and misunderstanding that was finally diagnosed as stage 4 endometriosis. I underwent laparoscopic excision surgery and barely recovered before becoming pregnant.”

On struggling during her pregnancy:

“I had been looking forward to a stretch of my life where my body felt like mine again—where I wasn’t constantly managing pain or advocating to be believed. Pregnancy, in all honesty, completely derailed that. And I really struggled.”

“For the most part, I hated being pregnant. I was deeply uncomfortable. I was constantly sick, exhausted, and in pain. Because of my prior reproductive health issues, I chose to be under the care of an OB-GYN rather than a midwife. It was the most clinical approach to pregnancy and birth—not one I loved—but one I felt I needed for my health and safety. I found myself in yet another season of frustrating self-advocacy within a medical system that often fails to listen to women as carefully as it should.”

On coping with internalized shame for not breastfeeding:

“There is inherent guilt in choosing not to breastfeed. My body is biologically programmed to nourish my baby, and opting out of that can feel like going against something ancient, instinctual, and profoundly beautiful. That guilt doesn’t disappear simply because formula is safe, healthy, and nutritionally complete. I still have to remind myself—and sometimes literally ask to be told—that being mentally and emotionally okay is not separate from being a good mother.”

On choosing to be a present mom over breastfeeding:

“Sacrifice is already one of the most integral parts of becoming a mom. It’s about how we show up and why. I personally knew if I breastfed I would not be capable of being as present a mother as I have become.”

On developing mastitis following childbirth:

“I spent days icing my boobs, watching my body produce something I couldn’t give my baby even if I had decided I was going to breastfeed. The conflicting feelings I was experiencing felt like a mini war within my body and my mind. I had decided not to breastfeed—which I was already feeling guilty about—but my body was producing milk. I was grieving an experience that I chose not to have. All of these contradicting truths were a very confusing thing to reckon with during an already overwhelming time.”

On prioritizing her daughter and her postpartum recovery:

“I wasn’t sure the benefits of breastfeeding outweighed the demand, isolation, and exhaustion that can come with it. I carried my daughter for over nine months. Once she arrived, I didn’t want to remain her sole lifeline in a way that would further deplete me, hinder my recovery, and leave little room for feeding to be shared between my partner and me.”

On sharing feeding responsibilities with partner Pete Davidson:

“The truth is, there is a profound imbalance in the physical and emotional labor of pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and beyond. Conception may begin with two contributors. After that, the physical load is singular. Biology assigned me the greater share of the burden. I chose to redistribute a small part of that weight by making feeding something we both carry.”

On not feeling pressured by her family or partner to breastfeed:

“It’s important for me to say this: I feel fortunate not to have felt pressure to breastfeed from the people in my life. My partner didn’t push me in either direction. My mother, who breastfed my sisters and me and was proud of that, made a point to tell me, simply, that the decision was entirely mine. She never said anything else, and her restraint meant a great deal to me. The OB-GYN and hospital staff didn’t try to persuade me either.”

For more from Elsie Hewitt, head to Elle.com.

The couple recently shared the sweet meaning behind their daughter’s name.