New York, March 30: Serah Small is just like any new mother - loves to cuddle up and feed her baby. Yet she is so unlike other mothers. Small is an ice hockey player in Canada.
Small loves hockey so much so that just eight weeks after giving birth, she was on the rink playing games.
There was just one problem: At one of the games, she realised she'd forgotten her breast pump at home. So, she had no option other than breast feed her child - Ellie - during the intervals.
"I don't think I've done anything different than millions of moms before me," Small was quoted as saying by the CNN.
The only difference here is that Small's mom snapped a couple of photos and they have gone viral.
Small is an elementary school teacher from Grande Prairie, Alberta. She's been playing hockey since she was 4.
Hockey moms are the real MVPs.
— Women's Hockey Life (@LiveTheDreamWHL) March 29, 2018
📸: Milky Way Lactation Services & Serah Small pic.twitter.com/KzvgkjEbBU
"I never thought this photo would ever leave the lactation page and especially go viral," she said.
Small said she'd been having issues feeding young Ellie while covered, which is why she stripped down.
"Being a mom is absolutely amazing. And I'm so happy I got to do something I absolutely love while still meeting my [baby's] needs," Small said in one FB post.
"Our bodies are amazing and this weekend was the first time I truly appreciated mine."
"But I have never been more proud of myself and my body," she wrote. "I felt my milk come in and leak as I played and between periods I would strip down to feed my eight week old babe," she said.
Small was apprehensive about sharing the photo as she was afraid of receiving a negative response.
However, her lactation consultant helped her realise that she shouldn't feel ashamed.
"Although at times I feel the burn of judgemental eyes I feel more empowered than anything to be able to meet my babies needs the way my body intended [sic]," she said in her post.