Not to argue, genuinely curious what most women think…

Not breastfeeding because you don't want to is valid enough. It's hard, and some don't want to deal with it, and that's okay. We have that right as women to breastfeed or not

Fed is best I am an exclusive breastfeeding momma but fully support any decision a family makes in regards to feeding their little.

For those that believe “fed is best,” what do you say to defend it when people say that fed is the bare minimum? I’m recently hearing so much about breastmilk being more beneficial for mothers and babies compared to other food sources. I just want to have a conversation since this is a common topic between my cousin and I who (respectfully) feed our babies differently.

Personally I refuse to get into it. Mothers are still able to form a bond with babe regardless of how they feed. I had a friend argue that it was better for mom’s mental well being to BF, I’ve exclusively nursed two babies and both times suffered ppd and ppa 🤷‍♀️ I just tell others their opinion is theirs and that’s okay. It’s not worth the fight.

I do believe fed is best. I did breastfeed all 3 of my kids but my youngest was only breastfed for 6 months as I could not produce enough milk because I had to go back to work and I couldn’t keep up with him! I don’t think any mother should be bullied or judged for formula feeding. As long as your child is fed and healthy that’s all that matters! Shouldn’t even be a debate tbh

Breast may be best for you and yours but fed is best is best for everyone regardless - from a pretty exclusively breastfed mama (little to no pumping)

Fed is a bare minimum requirement to staying alive. There are a plethora of reasons a woman might not breastfeed and that’s fine but it doesn’t change the fact that formula will never be as good as breastmilk.

Fed is best. Couldn’t give a shit how someone feeds their kid as long as they’re fed. People who obsess over this are weird as hell.

I believe in both. Breast is best but so is mental health. Either way you choose. It’s best for you and baby regardless.

Breastfed is scientifically nutritionally ‘best’ but in reality fed is best as there a whole host of other mental and physical factors to take into consideration.

Fed is best because the most important thing is that baby is healthy and fed. Breast milk has more health benefits than formula on its own but milk is not the only thing that determines a baby’s health. Sometimes I feel like people treat it like a contest comparing the two and trying to justify their decisions or attack others. It only matters that baby is healthy, whether that is achieved through formula or breast milk is irrelevant to me.

I don’t personally care about what anyone does with their children . Breast is best for me & I commit to nursing on demand on the boob only for a minimum of 2 years with each of my children for its benefits . & exclusively for the 1st year of life, my littles dont even drink water or any other liquid until they’re 1. This is 1 area lol that I’m in agreement with, with essentially all major health organizations worldwide 🫠Obviously if I weren’t able to nurse for whatever reason I mean lol I wouldn’t want a dead baby sooo they’d need to be fed in some other manner as I would have no other alternative.. but For me I read up a lot on nursing prior to having my babies, I’m very natural oriented & was very clear on what I wanted for each of my children. I sought out support when I needed it consistently which i know is responsible for my continuing on with it in the long term & I have succeeded in doing what I set out to do in this particular area 💕💕 I’m utterly pleased with myself🥰

Fed is best I tried to breastfeed wasn’t producing enough couldn’t build enough of a stash and go to school and was crying cause it was so hard and draining which is stuff people don’t tell you. I felt like after I stopped listening to people about breastmilk being better I was a better mama because I wasn’t so mentally and physically exhausted

Breast milk does have benefits that formula does not have, that's just a fact. But that does not mean formula is lacking anything, it has everything baby needs. "Breast is best" has been used to pressure or shame mothers who do not breastfeed. Those moms started responding with "Fed is best", to alleviate that unnecessary mom guilt and to spread the word that there is nothing wrong with formula feeding. Unfortunately some moms adopted the term when referring to feeding their older children unhealthy meals, which is when "Fed is the bare minimum" started to come into the conversation. If someone is saying "Fed is the bare minimum" about formula feeding I would remind them that is not how that phrase was intended to be used. Formula feeding is not low effort nor is it poor quality. Some people have their minds made up tho, just ignore anyone who attempts to make you feel bad for how you choose to feed your baby.

I breast fed for 3 and a half months then my boy got thrush and passed it on to my nipples, we went to the dr every week as nothing was clearing it, i was in agony every time he latched it felt like shards of glass where cutting up my nipples every time he sucked ans i was in tears feesing him, i could clear my thrush but he would just re-infect me, we tried nipple gards but he refused them, we eventually found a bottle he would take to try and supplement some of the feeds but eventually i stopped producing as much milk, it took another 3 months to clear his thrush i had to change to formula for my benifit and hos we where both miserable. Although breasts have extra benefits, there's no point in a monther having to suffer or go through mental strain just to try breastfeeding Happy mothers best and can look after the child. So fed is best

“Fed is bare minimum” is such an anti-mother thing to say. Implies the mother is doing a bad job simply for not breastfeeding - I guarantee most formula moms are doing so much more than bare minimum. Im a huge advocate for breastfeeding but I support mamas regardless of how they feed. Breast is ideal, formula also allow babies to thrive

Breastmilk is nutritionally ‘best’ but what is actually ‘best’ for a family comes down to so many more factors than just nutritional content drop for drop. Which is why this is always going to be a never ending argument that actually doesn’t need to happen.

Fed is best. My first has breast milk through a tube because she was severely prem she had that for two weeks; she wouldn’t latch either after that so bottle fed on demand. My second I wasn’t even trying with just bottle fed him as well and he was nearly overdue. I don’t defend my decisions because my decision is valid enough without having to justify it to anybody; I formed amazing bonds with both my babies without breastfeeding x

Breast is best, but that doesn't mean it's bad to formula feed at all. Lots of reasons people don't breastfeed and that's totally okay - I couldn't breast feed at all. But there's no denying that breast milk, is scientifically better than formula.

Fed is best. My son ended up with severe jaundice from not feeding enough when I bf. I don’t think the conversation apart from on here has ever come up. I don’t actually know many mums that did bf or if they did they gave up quite quickly. I do wonder as some people think it has miracle properties and can prevent colds which I’m highly sceptical about especially as both my ff kids have quite strong immune systems.

I do think breastfeeding is best, for the mum and the baby, but formula is also a valid and great choice for whatever reason. I don't think feeding is the just the bare minimum, on both case it is hard work to feed a baby. I'm currently giving up breastfeeding as it has been so challenging this time around. I have to mix feed and now just giving up breastfeeding for lot of reasons: my little girl is cluster feeding, and never satisfied until I give her a bottle, I'm recovering from complications and have a 4yo too, I breastfeed for hours and don't get time to do anything else, and she is still hungry.....mentally it's taking a toll on me. Formula is life saver and you still need to make the feed safely, so still hard work. I wouldn't judge neither if someone choose to formula feed from birth just because. Especially after experiencing how hard breastfeeding can be

Fed is best, because if it means baby is eating and moms mental health is good then yes. But i do not believe, at all, that formula and breast milk are the same. They are not. Breastmilk is the best milk a human baby could have. It has properties that formula can not replicate. If you are unable to produce or you can't pump because of work and/or you just don't have the mental and emotional capacity to endure that then the next best thing is formula feeding so that everyone can be healthy. I'm not gonna judge any parent for feeding their child formula and I'm not going to pretend they're the same thing.

Fed is better than dead. And when those babies are older no one will know whether they were breastfed or formula fed. I was breastfed and my sisters were formula fed. I have no advantages over my sisters. My LG had maybe a week of me trying to breastfeed and then thrived on formula. She’s approaching 20 months and is really healthy and happy. I don’t see how things would have been any different if we’d have been able to continue breastfeeding.

We all know that breast milk is the best because at the end of the day it is designed for humans growth. But not everyone can breast feed, which is why fed is best exists. A full belly is better then an empty one no matter whether it is breast milk or formula.

I think that if you're not even willing to try then why have a baby. I want the best for my baby and take each day as it comes, because it is hard. And any amount of breast milk is extremely beneficial to them. Aren't hard things the ones that are the most worth doing? If the mother can't BF for various reasons then that's fair. But saying 'I don't want to' is pretty selfish IMHO

Informed, empowered, and supported is best. Breastfeeding may not be the best for every baby, or every family. "Breast is best" is overly simplistic, and doesn't take into account other factors.

Baby gaining weight is best

I also can't believe in 2025 we are STILL shaming other parents for how they feed and nourish their babies. Make the choice that's right for you, and let others do the same.

On an incredible basic level, breast is best. Scientifically speaking, the composition of breast milk is ideal for baby - formula is a safe substitution but it isn’t quite the same. BUT the breast is best argument fails to take into account the myriad of factors that exist in the decision whether to breast feed or not. For example issues with supply, difficulties with breastfeeding itself, the impact of trauma from labour and delivery, implications from labour and delivery, the mental well-being of the mother… there are so many factors which come into play when families make this decision you just cannot argue one method of feeding is better than the other. All any mother wants is to do what’s best for her baby. And it’s really no one else’s business. Personally I find it so strange that the “breast is best/fed is best” arguments even exist. Can’t everyone just allow others the right to make decisions about what is best for their babies and their families?!

There are obvious immediate benefits of breastfeeding for mom and baby, such as quicker recovery for mom and antibodies for baby. However, the research is pretty clear that the benefits of breastfeeding are more about the social and economic factors that allow someone to breastfeed, not the actual content of the milk. People who breastfeed typically have less limitations (ability to take off work, funds to access pump supplies, time to breastfeed, etc) compared to someone who does not breastfeed. If you can afford to breastfeed, you are more likely to be able to afford other amenities that can lead to success for baby (daycare, living in higher income area with access to better schools, disposable income for high quality nutrition, etc). That said, the best option is the option that is best for the whole family based upon each individual circumstance that allows baby to grow safely and healthily. The more important factors are access to healthcare, childcare, paid parent leave…. Etc

As long as a baby is healthy, safe and gaining weight, I couldn’t care one bit how it’s actually fed.

I think it's somewhere in between. Breastmilk is better for baby than formula, but it's also really important to have healthy and happy parents, so if breastfeeding doesn't work well for a mother/family (e.g. impacting mother's mood, mother not able to get enough sleep so needs someone else to help with feeds overnight, or a million other possible reasons) then bottle feeding (expressed breastmilk or formula) is absolutely fine as an alternative to breastfeeding. I don't particularly like the expression fed is best, fed is a bare minimum requirement, although I get the sentiment behind it.

Breast milk is nutritionally better and does provide lifelong benefits for baby and mother. But I understand there a long list of reasons why it may not work for some people, there also just isn’t enough support out there for breastfeeding mothers. For me, I wanted to try and 6 months later we’re having to change over to formula due to my own health and babies allergies. So I can understand both sides.

Fed is best. Breast milk might technically be the most beneficial to the baby but that doesn’t mean it’s the best choice for either mother or baby in every situation. Everyone’s situation is different and to me fed is best means whatever keeps both mother and baby happy is what you do.

Neither "breast is best" is a very divisive statement and weighted but factually human breastmilk is the default for a human baby and in that respect is "best". "Fed is best" is also divisive because all babies need to be fed no matter what and what are you saying to women who make huge efforts to breastfeed and find it challenging? That you needn't have bothered because it doesn't matter, they just need feeding? "Fed is first" is a better statement. And a woman's choice of how they want to feed their baby should be respected. Support needs to be given to women who want to breastfeed and are finding it challenging. Breastfeeding solutions for breastfeeding problems.