Which Formula Do You Recommend?
It’s one of the questions I get asked most often. And honestly, it used to catch me off guard, not because I didn’t have an answer, but because I knew how loaded the question felt for the person asking it.
I’m an IBCLC. A lactation consultant. Surely I’m the last person who should have an opinion on formula?
Here’s the thing: I keep formula in my clinic. I also keep breast pumps. Both live in the same cupboard, which feels about right to me.
When a baby needs calories and hydration quickly and there isn’t enough breastmilk available in that moment, formula is exactly what I reach for once Ive discussed it with the parents and we are all agreed. It is safe, it is regulated, and I’m genuinely glad we have it.
What I’m less comfortable with is the way formula is marketed and I want to be careful here, because those are two very different things. The product isn’t the problem. An industry that has historically targeted new mothers at their most vulnerable, in their most doubt-filled moments with messaging designed to erode confidence, and advertising that quietly assumes you’ll be stopping breastfeeding rather than supporting you to continue, that’s where I have questions.
When a mum sits across from me and says “I don’t think I have enough milk” sometimes that’s true, and we work on it together. Sometimes it’s a fear that was planted weeks earlier by an ad that knew exactly what it was doing.
So when you ask me which formula I recommend: I’ll answer that question honestly, because you deserve a real answer, not a political one. I know the formulas. I know the differences. And if formula is part of your feeding plan, whether by necessity or by choice, my job is to help you use it well, not to make you feel bad about it.
Breastfeeding support should never come with a side of shame.
If you’re navigating any of this and want to talk it through, you know where I am.
