‘Boy Meets World’ Star Danielle Fishel Reveals Her Breast Milk Almost Killed Her Child

Boy Meets World star Danielle Fishel has a dire warning for moms, explaining how her breast milk nearly killed her infant son. Fishel is known to fans as Topanga from the 1990s sitcom, but in real life, she is a mother with serious health concerns. She shared her story in a new piece on Good Morning America.

Fishel published an essay for the ABC News show on Monday morning, revealing the twists and turns she has been through since her son was born. Fishel and her husband, comedian Jensen Karp, had their son Adler back in June. He was born four weeks early, with fluid in his lungs.

As the actress explained, Adler was kept in the neonatal intensive care unit for three weeks after his birth. He was at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and Fishel and Karp spent every moment with him that they could, and Fishel was devastated by the way things were going.

“My ‘birth plan’ included having a natural childbirth, free from any drugs,” she wrote. When things turned south, however, Fishel was treated with several kinds of medication, and “My drug-free birth was out the window.”

“The guilty thoughts came flooding into my head: ‘Why did my water break so early?’” she wondered. “‘Was it because I was on my feet working 12-plus hour days at almost 36 weeks? Was it all the spicy food I had been craving? Did I do something that will hurt my baby?’”

After Adler was successfully delivered, Fishel said that he was fed breast milk through a tube, in an effort to stick to her all-natural plan as much as possible. However, “unfortunately, after 10 days, the fatty nature of breast milk caused a major increase in the amount of fluid in his lungs.”

Once again, Fishel says she was wracked with guilt. She wondered: “why is my milk hurting my child?” while also feeling anxious about the additives in formula.

“Of all the experiences we’ve had with Adler’s health, for some reason, not being able to feed him from my body has been one of the most emotional for me,” she wrote. “The doctors assured me Adler would most likely grow out of this someday and I should keep pumping and eventually, hopefully, he’d be able to reap the benefits of breast milk.”

Once again, it did not work. Later on in the summer, the breast milk caused Adler’s lungs to fill with fluid again. Fishel, still mired in “mom guilt,” had to go back to work, with Adler still drinking formula.

Fishel shared all of this to give fans an in-depth look at the unique brand of guilt she felt mothers were exposed to. Caught between mommy blog-style media, protective instincts and doctors’ advice, she wrote that she was “an emotional wreck.” However, the experience gave her a fresh perspective on parenthood that she hoped others could learn from.

“Please, do me a favor. The next time you see a mom with her baby or young child, look her in the eye and honestly tell her she’s doing an amazing job. Because you are, mama. I see you and you’re doing great,” she concluded.