When your baby is born you have to decide whether to feed them breast milk or formula. Each has their own pros and cons. What I didn’t realize was how seriously the debate between breast milk over formula could get.
A couple of weeks ago while scrolling through Twitter I started seeing commentary on an Insider article regarding Tan France titled “Tan France says he doesn’t have the ‘luxury and the privilege’ of breastfeeding his baby — and shouldn’t be formula-shamed for it”.
The story further explains that many people assumed that after Tan and his partner had their child via surrogacy they would feed their baby breast milk. For various reasons they chose not to.
Some of the comments on Twitter shock me a bit. The words “selfish”, “irresponsible”, “unfit” are being used. There was a lot of “breast milk is the best milk” and similar sayings. Honestly, it made me angry.
Not everyone can or wants to breast feed for a plethora of reasons that not one person has to explain to anyone.
Getting a baby to latch may be difficult. Breast milk supply/production may be low. Time and schedules are constraining. There may be sexual trauma. THEY MAY JUST NOT WANT TO AND THAT IS FINE.
Breast milk or formula shouldn’t matter.
Breastfeeding doesn’t make you a better woman or mother. Formula feeding doesn’t make you less than a woman or a mother. Formula-shaming has got to stop. The method of feeding your child does not measure your success as a parent. If you feed your baby breast milk, good for you. If you feed your baby formula, good for you. You can be a good parent and feed your baby however you choose. You are feeding your baby and that is the most important thing to remember. Let’s start celebrating both feeding because both deserve it.
