I'm going to be sharing an interview soon that challenges a lot my preconceptions about formula feeding. In anticipation of that, I thought it would be worthwhile to have a conversation about our experiences of feeding our babies (if you're not a parent or caregiver feel free to offer something supportive, or just say hi!).
I'm conscious of the fact that talking about early experiences of milk feeding can be upsetting or even distressing. Also a heads up that I talk about some of my own difficult experiences of having a baby in the NICU and trying and failing to breastfeed there. I trust you to take care of yourself, and if you don't feel resourced enough to talk about any of this stuff today then please sit this one out.
I'm also really aware of how fraught this topic can be. We're not here to judge each other's choices (that's assuming we even have agency here). I'm not interested in debates about whether or not 'breast is best' or 'fed is best'. I just want to create a space for us to share – insofar as we are comfortable doing so – and that requires a sense of safety. I know CIHAS is full of compassionate, open-minded folks, so I suspect this is redundant to say, but I will remove any shitty comments. Thanks for being great and making this a place where we can talk about tricky subjects in good faith.
In many ways, milk feeding is the first family foodwork we’ll do as new parents (that’s if you don’t count the euthenics-y preconception and gestation nutritionwork expected of us). Like other aspects of intensive mothering culture, the decisions we make can feel high stakes. Breast/chest/bottle? Formula or human milk or combi-feeding? Feeding to a schedule or ‘on demand’?
In 1994, the UK adopted the UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative, a programme aimed at increasing breastfeeding initiation and duration (as well as close and loving relationships between babies and their carers). This is on the back of the War On Want Baby Killer report, published in the mid-'70s, that highlighted the exploitative marketing practices used by formula companies (particularly Nestlé) in parts of Africa. ‘Breast is Best’ has become a prominent feature of antenatal appointments, NCT classes, and the lively and opinionated online lactation consultant community. People’s feelings on this are so strong. I once had a complaint from someone who was upset that the online marketing materials for a ‘Raising Intuitive Eaters’ workshop I was running showed the image of a baby bottle. I didn’t make any claims about what was inside it, but I received a scolding nonetheless.
