Los Angeles, Jul 19 (IANS): Actress Kristen Bell breastfed her husband and actor Dax Shepard to cure her mastitis.

The actress will always be "grateful" to her husband for helping her relieve the infection she'd acquired while nursing their younger daughter Delta, now seven, by unblocking her milk duct when she was unable to seek medical assistance for the problem, reports aceshowbiz.com.

She said: "One time I was particularly grateful for Dax was when I was breastfeeding our second girl and got mastitis. I'd had it before with my first daughter and learnt how dangerous it can get. It can go septic."

"I was standing in the shower trying all the homeopathic things but they didn't work. We were away from home so I couldn't see a doctor," she shared.

"Our daughter wasn't latching well and preferred the bottle. So I pulled down my shirt and turned to Dax and said, 'I'm going to need you to take care of this'."

Bell said: "And he nursed and sucked out whatever was blocking my duct and spat it into a mug. I woke up the next morning and it was gone. I'm glad I have a husband who would step up to the plate and do what needed to be done."

The 42-year-old actress' "favorite bit" about watching Shepard, 47, raise their girls is seeing how affectionate he is with them.

She told the Sunday Times magazine, "Dax is extremely affectionate as a father. His readiness for emotional or physical affection with our girls is my favourite bit about his parenting. He is always up for a snuggle."

"That's important because we want our girls to grow up knowing that a man is not afraid to hold their hand or be their shoulder to cry on if they need," she noted.