Is it just mums who breastfeed that get judged and thrown out of public restaurants/cafes or do mums who formula feed also get judged and thrown out of cafes?

Unfortunately, it is mostly the breastfeeding mums that get thrown out of cafes/restaurants for feeding their babies. While the longer term advantages of breastfeeding, which include health benefits for mother and baby (such as reduction in autoimmune disease and cancers), are well documented, the short term advantages of formula feeding cannot go unnoticed. While breastfeeding is biologically designed for human infants, many families describe practical advantages to formula feeding in the early weeks.

1. Society is more accepting of formula feeding in public

There are barely any news articles documenting a parent feeding their baby formula in public. But there are numerous articles documenting mothers being humiliated and thrown out of venues due to breastfeeding their babies or pumping in public. Recently, Dr Elise Turner was thrown out of the Virgin airport lounge because she was pumping milk under her t-shirt in the lounge. This is a world-wide problem for breastfeeding mothers.

2. Formula feeding only six times/day and baby labelled a ‘good baby’

The immediate advantage of formula feeding is that the baby generally sleeps for longer periods, and feeds less frequently. As a result, formula fed babies often get labelled as ‘good babies’ which can have a positive loop impact on parents who feel more validated. This is because cows milk is designed for cows, and as a result the large cow proteins in baby formulas take longer to digest when given to human babies. That means, the humans babies fed formula feel ‘fuller’ for longer. It gives parents longer breaks - often as much as 4 hourly - between feeding cycles - so only 6 feeds per day. This compares to the 2 hourly feeding cycles for breastfed babies (human breast milk is rapidly and efficiently digested by human babies which means they need feeding more often). This accumulates to about 12 feeds a day.

3. Babies consume formula faster than breastmilk making bottle feeding more efficient.

Breastfeeding is time consuming whereas formula coming out of a bottle can be consumed by a baby much faster as there is less ‘work’ by the baby needed to consume the formula. Added to that, there are numerous props to hold bottles in place for babies, making it even more convenient because the baby doesn’t always need to be held during a feed. This can be very convenient for working mothers.

4. Keeping measurements of feeds can reduce stress in mothers

Some mothers are anxious about milk supply and as a result, prefer to formula feed because they can then have more control over the exact amounts of formula their babies are consuming. For anxious parents, this can make the first weeks of parenting feel significantly less stressful.

5. Easier to have babies in quicker succession

Mothers who formula feed can get pregnant faster than mums who exclusively breastfeed after having a baby. Breastfeeding is a natural contraceptive and mothers who exclusively breastfeed generally are protected from pregnancy for about a year.

Ultimately, feeding decisions are deeply personal. A supportive society recognises both the biological design of breastfeeding and the lived realities that lead families to choose formula.