Breastfeeding is good. Formula is just as good.

First, I need to clarify my position since a number of people seem to have misunderstood:

  1. I think that breastfeeding is amazing. Our 14-month-old is still getting the boob. And I am envious. Her mum loves it, and presumably she does too.
  2. Mothers who want to breastfeed should be supported, both pre- and post-natally. Breastfeeding in public should be a normal thing. Mothers should never be made to feel self-conscious, ashamed, or unwelcome when breastfeeding in public.
  3. I have no dogma on breastfeeding vs formula feeding. I want the right answer, even if it differs from my current view. Especially if it differs from my current view. We hope to have another baby, and we want to make the correct (and informed) decisions.
  4. But, dogma or no dogma, I do have a dog in this fight. Our little girl’s health, and her mum’s emotional wellbeing, was put at risk by the dogmas of others. So it is impossible for me to be neutral. I am angry with the midwives, the health visitors, the parenting books, the Facebook groups, and the rest of the blinkered and partisan breastfeeding crusade.