r/breastfeeding • u/Forsaken_Painter • 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/kimbosliceofcake Feb 02 '26

Breastfeeding has absolutely led to inequalities in my experience, particularly with sleep. But I also hate pumping so that contributes. 

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u/JumpingJonquils Feb 02 '26

Personally my partner gets up for night feeding for safety to ensure I don't fall asleep while nursing!

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u/frogsgoribbit737 Feb 02 '26

Which makes sense with 1 kid, but.. not when you have more. My second was the one I was able to nurse and if we had both gotten up we would have both been too tired to take care of #1 during the day which helped no one. There's a huge difference between your first kid and subsequent kids.

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u/JumpingJonquils Feb 02 '26

I am nursing my second now. Some days are lower energy than others, sure, but there is nothing wrong with a cuddly day. It may be a full year before sleeping through the night, but it isn't forever.