Raising my bottle to formula feeding
Posted at 6:23 am on November 23, 2009 by Catherine
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I wasn’t able to breastfeed exclusively with my firstborn. And yes, I know how many mouths just opened to say “you could have if…” But please, drop your stones until you’ve heard my story.
As a result, I have mixed feelings about the whole Breast-Is-Best campaign. Of course I think breastfeeding is best, but I also know that when the pro-breastfeeding pamphlets insist that all but 2% of women are biologically capable of breastfeeding, that 2% equals a lot of real women who are constantly being slapped with messages that they aren’t good enough and that their children will suffer from horrible deficits as a result.
So my feelings are also mixed about this: As of October, a new Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program initiative designed to promote breastfeeding reduces infant-formula subsidies by up to 26%; parents who previously had most of their formula paid for by WIC may now have to purchase formula on their own.
Is this really going to encourage low-income women to breastfeed instead of bottle-feed? I don’t know. On the one hand, I doubt it. Systemic change doesn’t come that easily. But on the other hand, maybe further down the road more women would choose to breastfeed simply because it was cheaper.
There’s that nagging voice of experience though, that makes me think of the women who just can’t. Can’t for physical reasons, can’t because they have to work so much, can’t because they aren’t getting enough nutrients themselves or are on medications, can’t for whatever private reasons they happen to have. And I’m sad that, for them, caring for their children just got a bit harder. Formula feeding in a breast-is-best world was hard enough on me, and I was able to afford the formula that made my child grow and thrive. The reason these women are in the WIC program in the first place is because their children are at risk for malnutrition. Well fed children are healthier than starving children, even if it is formula instead of breast milk.
I’d love to hear your stories – not the “I had an easy time so everyone else will too if they do what I did” type of stories; I’ve heard plenty of those. I’d love to hear what worked for you in feeding your babies, what didn’t work for you, what you chose to sacrifice to follow your values, or how you came to value something besides what you chose. 
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I have similar reservations about the WIC program. While I think breastfeeding support and advocacy are important, I think that the well-meaning people trying to promote these things often miss the forest for the trees. I went in with every intention to breastfeed – I was educated, had a strong desire, had plenty of support – and it was an utter disaster. You can read my story on my blog – http://fearlessformulafeeder.blogspot.com/2009/08/nursing-old-wounds-my-story.html.
Anyway… considering that many of the women who need WIC do not have the resources that I did (expensive lactation consultants, hospital grade pumps, great medical care from pro-breastfeeding physicians in California, familial support), I do worry that once the reality of breastfeeding kicks in, they might at least need to supplement with formula (which to this day, I can’t for the life of me understand the problem with… even if you believe all the breastfeeding hype, your baby will still be getting the benefits if you give them an occasional bottle of formula to take the pressure off, you know?), and that could be very cost-prohibitive without help.
Thanks for the post… it needed to be said!
I am not going to comment on formula feeding vs. breastfeeding because that’s a topic I am too attached to and I am a fiesty debater (at best)…BUT i will say working in a professional setting with mothers and children for 4 years as well as working closely with Dupage County Health Department and the WIC program, WIC is always supposed to be a supplemental program. They have never claimed or encourage total dependence on them to nurish children or mothers. It is a program meant to help bridge the gap between paychecks and food, not completely provide. If a mother needs more assistance than WIC can offer, there is the LINK program, which will give money for groceries (including formula) every month. When I was last working with WIC a year and a half ago, they were giving mothers who formula fed full time 9 cans of dry powder a month. So to decrease by 26% is still giving 7-8 cans a month, which is still generous for a supplemental program.
I see both sides of this coin. I think there are probably a lot of lower-income mothers who take the WIC formula because that is simply easier than breastfeeding (‘cuz we all know that breastfeeding IS hard and it takes work!). But, I know that there are just as many women who can’t BF and also can’t afford full-time formula and the health of their child depends on the assistance they get from WIC. So, I think that making the formula from WIC truly supplemental like April said MAY actually encourage more mothers to give breastfeeding a chance. But, if it doesn’t work or they aren’t able to continue nursing, they should ABSOLUTELY not feel guilty or like a failure and should be able to get the assistance they need to keep their children fed and healthy.
Thanks for this post, Cath. It is a topic I think we all have opinions and strong feelings about. The tasks of feeding and nourishing our children is close to the heart of all mothers.
I think that everyone has a unique situation and I really don’t know what the results of the new WIC program will be. However, I do not think that any outside influences will help women make the very personal decision they have to come to about breast or formula feeding. I can totally feel for you Catherine (as I went to your site and read your story on breast feeding). I too did not breast feed my child. I had the rather unique problem of coming down with Post Partum Depression immediately after birth… literally in the delivery room. Besides the fact that I was in no shape to breast feed, I was simply trying to survive each day… I was not able to breast feed with the medication that I had to take. However, thanks to my loving family, a great physician and a wonderful baby I fully recovered by the second month after my baby girl was born. At this point however, I was already a bottle feeder and had no milk to offer. Therefore, in my situation… no amount of prodding from a WIC program would have gotten me to breast feed instead of bottle feed. Good luck to all you mommas out there and congrats to those who have been able to breast feed. Just remember that the rest of us are not total slackers, we are just not all as gifted in the same areas. Hugs!