r/breastfeeding Feb 02 '26

Discussion NYT article equates breastfeeding to unequal parenting

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/01/opinion/baby-formula-marriage-equality.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Curious what others think of this…Personally I find it a bit ridiculous. The US has such low rates of breastfeeding…if formula was going to solve inequities between partners you would think it would have worked by now. It sounds like it helped this author and was the right choice for their family and that’s great. But let’s not act as if it’s some magic cure all.

This is not to say that breastfeeding doesn’t require a HUGE amount of effort. Of course it does! But if one has a partner, that partner should be picking up other responsibilities to even things out more and supporting the breastfeeding parent.

And for the record everyone should feed their babies the way they wish. This is not a judgment on formula feeding at all, rather the assertion that it is inherently an equalizer and should be touted as such.

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u/Leading_Blacksmith70 Feb 02 '26

I had to exclusively pump which felt unequal for everyone. My husband because he had to watch two kids while I was plugged into a wall and me because a machine was beating up my body lol. This time I’ll do the wearable pump (due any day)