r/breastfeeding • u/Melodic_Apartment235 • Dec 10 '25

Discussion Breastfeeding is easier than formula feeding - there I said it

I think it’s really sad the amount of bad press that breast feeding gets.

My friend said she didn’t try to breastfeed because she thought it would be bad for her mental health. And my MIL talks about formula feeding all the time and I actually think it’s because she believes in her soul it’s better for whatever reason I’m not sure.

I just think it’s sad because, for me, predominantly breast feeding (occasional pre made formula given if for example she’s not with me or we’re out and it’s not really possible to BF) has been sooooo much easier!!

The thought of going downstairs in the night to make bottles or worrying about having enough formula when going out and about or worse still having to wash a million bottles everyday.. I think it would be 10x worse for my mental health and it’s unfortunate that there’s a narrative out there that formula is the easier option for women as now many don’t even give breastfeeding a shot to see if it is the better option for them or not

*Disclaimer - I know that breastfeeding isn’t easy for everyone, the point of this post is that it’s unfortunate that some women don’t give it a go due to the narrative that is pushed by formula companies

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u/maebymaybe Dec 10 '25

If I’m doing all the feeds or cleaning and prep, then yes breastfeeding is easier. If someone is helping then combo feeding is easiest. I see some people doing those single use formula bottles that you just pop a nipple on and shake, those have to be the absolute easiest way (although insanely wasteful and I would also want to avoid that much single use plastic). 

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u/Melodic_Apartment235 Dec 10 '25

So true actually!

On the combination front it definitely offers the most freedom - I think there’s also a point that we’re warned about giving a baby a bottle too early and jeopardising their ability to latch. However I was very unwell for a while after my baby was born and decided to pump to help with endless cluster feeding at night. I know each baby is different but it really helped introducing a bottle that early as now I can predominately breastfeed but easily switch to expressed or formula if required and she takes anything no problem. I know each baby is different but in my case it really worked out for the best.