The way formula has become so normal is a topic that’s worth discussing. Before I do though - I want to say that I know how emotive this topic is. My lens here is only on patterns, systems, and hegemony (the socially held “norms.”) I am not discussing formula itself as good / bad. (It’s a lifesaving product, actually.)…

The way we talk about breastfeeding has changed a lot over the last century or so, and it’s not happened by accident. This month we’ll be focusing on infant feeding from a societal and anthropological POV - mostly thinking about how something called the “Medical Gaze” takes ownership of normal experiences and pathologises them….

"Which brand of formula should I use?"

Lets imagine you're in a situation where you need, or want, to give your baby some formula.

You stand in the supermarket and are met with a sea of options. Red or blue? comfort? Soy? Organic?

And the prices! Do they reflect the quality of the milk?

Stop. Breathe. lets run through some quick facts to help you.

“Here, this is like magic cream.” The midwife smiled as she handed me a sample sachet of lanolin, the recognisable purple branding leaping out at me. I was experiencing painful feeding, and it appeared that the answer was “magic cream” at least, according to the staff at my local maternity unit.

4am is strange, isn’t it? It’s too early to be morning, but it’s not really nighttime still either. As a breastfeeding parent it felt to me like a liminal space between one day ending and another starting; my baby and I held in the predawn darkness through yet another feed…

“…And, as I always do, I marveled at the magic that happens when someone is held, heard, and believed. “

“While on the surface, there is a push to breastfeed, that can in itself can come across as pressure…”

“… crying and expressing feelings of disappointment, sadness, frustration, or anger is normal and healthy. We have an opportunity in that moment to teach our children to feel secure and loved with whatever feelings come up for them. “

“…STILL in 2022 you don’t have to look far to come across the message that by X weeks or Y months old your baby “should” be going however long between feeds, or should be able to soothe themselves without reassurance and support from an adult.”