You have the right, no, the obligation to remain silent, everything you say can and will be used against you.

Disclaimer: I have a _very_ clear opinion on breastfeeding. So if you can’t deal with some serious pro BF ranting, skip this entry.


There is a secret (oh well, secret…) war going on between mothers. A war about how to feed your infant. Breastfeeders against formula feeders. The first group is backed up by science and the WHO. The second one mainly by decades of aggressive advertising from the formula industry. Yeah, very black and white this. I did promise you some ranting.


Obviously we live in a formula infused society. Sure you can breastfeed your baby. For six months. Feed longer and you enter the weirdness zone. And for goodness sake: don’t say anything about it. Don’t even think of mentioning a single disadvantage of formula feeding. But… No! Don’t! Just. Don’t.


I’ve tried to again. Yes, I like to live dangerously. Other people jump off bridges with a bit of rope tied to their ankles. But nothing better for a good old adrenaline rush than saying something bad about formula.


Truth is that there are some very real disadvantages and health hazards attached to formula. It’s not something breastfeeding mothers invent merely to spite formula feeding moms. Well, sorry to burst your bubble, there really ARE risks. After all, it is processed food. And by nature, processed food always contains health hazards. It’s made in a factory, what else can you expect? There can be a bandage in your hamburger, a dead mouse in your bread or salmonella in your chicken salad. But this does not happen in formula factories of course. The sheer audacity of the thought.


More truth. Humans are mammals. Mammals feed their young with milk. Special milk, as every single species of mammal has milk that is specially designed for their own young. So of course anything else than human milk is inferior when it comes to feeding a human child. No, human milk is not superior, other milk is inferior. Semantics? Maybe, but it really makes all the difference.


But not a word about that. You’re a vicious fanatic if you’re even contemplating such nonsense. A boobylunatic! Must burn at stake (preferably gagged). Am I the only one who thinks this is extremely silly?


Yes. I do know there are mothers who wanted to breastfeed, but couldn’t. So yes, it can be painful to hear you’re not feeding your child the biological standard. But unfortunately life isn’t all roses and prancing about happily. (And even roses have thorns. Yay, cliché!) There are many things painful to many different people.


Unfortunately I will be careful with what I say in the future. Or better, careful _where_ I say it. And hope that one day we will achieve a much needed change in mentality. Formula is a great alternative. But it should be no more than that. An alternative.