The subject of formula feeding is always a tricky one. Is it good or bad to give formula to your baby? As a nutrition expert, I will always say BREAST IS BEST. It gives amazing benefits to you and to your baby. There is such a strong emphasis on this that it sometimes has the interesting effect of “mommy shaming” those that go for formula. In some cases, it is even the mama herself that feels ashamed or feels like a failure because she had to give formula. Mamas may also get in defensive mode when the topic is brought up, making it clear that it is none of your business (and let´s be honest…they have a point there). For better or for worse, however, people will always comment on what we give our children. For all those mamas that feel ashamed because they had to give formula and for all those people that feel tempted to judge a mama that did, I will say this: there are circumstances in which formula can help.
These circumstances include, for example, that the baby does not latch to the breast (even after trying different things such as nipple shields). Another option, is that the mama suffers from an extremely low milk production that is not enough to fullfil the baby´s needs. It can even be that the latching and milk production are good but the mama needs to take a particular medication and she cannot breastfeed during that time. As you can see, plenty of situations. Mamas, don´t feel bad. You are not failures, you are heroines. You tried your best (some for an excruciating long time) and it was out of your hands. You knew that these circumstances could not be changed and that in your case formula was the option.
I imagine some of you may be thinking “What about working mamas? Some start giving formula even though they do not experience any of the situations mentioned above.” Well first of all, if you are into judging these women…you are not (and have never been) a working mama. I will also add in the working mamas group those that are studying as the situation is equally hard for them. Personally, I find this one of the most difficult questions to answer. My advice will always be: let breastfeeding be your first option. However, having been in the working mama group myself, I completely see how it is sometimes not 100% realistic to expect working mamas to solely breastfeed. A lot depends on how friendly your work environment is for this kind of situation (time flexibility, lactation rooms, availability of a fridge to store the milk, daycare close to the office). At the moment, with the pandemic and a lot of people working from home, it may be a little easier for some to breastfeed. However, there are still mamas that end up struggling a lot with work and breastfeeding. If you feel that it can help you in these difficult situations to give formula, I would just recommend to not stop completely with breastfeeding. You can breastfeed your baby a couple of times when you are at home (e.g. when the baby wakes up in the morning and /or at night before the baby goes to sleep). Your milk production will lower because you will be breastfeeding less so you will most likely not need to pump at work. Your baby, however, will still be able to get the benefits of breastmilk when you feed him/her at home.
This is all for today! If you have a young baby and you are having difficulties with the lactation period, just know that you are not alone. It is a challenging period and it is normal to struggle with this!
Luz
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