Last Thursday, Gap published a photo of a model breastfeeding her son in an Instagram gallery that received more than 35,600 likes in just a few days:

The model, Adaora Akubilo Cobb, 34, was booked for the photo shoot with her 20-month-old toddler, Arinze, when he wanted to breastfeed. Although Adaora has faced criticism for breastfeeding her child — "Our society in particular is not very supportive of women who nurse [their children] after a certain age," she told the Chicago Tribune — when photographer Cass Bird asked permission to capture the moment, the mom said, "Absolutely."

She later thanked Bird on Instagram.



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Although the Gap used the hashtag #LoveByGapBody in its post, hordes of commenters have chimed in with #normalizebreastfeeding to show support.



In a photo Adaora posted to Instagram on Monday, the mother spoke out on behalf of moms who want to continue nursing when they return to work after childbirth, but struggle because they have no place to pump milk on site. "I had the desire and determination to breastfeed for as long as possible, but the reality is if I weren’t in the industry that I’m in, I believe that fulfilling this goal would’ve been challenging or near impossible," she wrote, encouraging others assert their rights.

For women who are able and open to breastfeeding, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists strongly supports nursing for a child's first six months, since it benefits babies and their moms. Federal law grants employees the right to reasonable break time in a private space to express breast milk until a baby is one year old, and some state laws offer additional protections.

“I don’t want women to feel shamed,” Adaora told Chicago Tribune. “It’s so important to encourage mothers.”

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Elizabeth Narins Senior fitness and health editor Elizabeth Narins is a Brooklyn, NY-based writer and a former senior editor at Cosmopolitan.com , where she wrote about fitness, health, and more.

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