“How did we come so dependent on formula to feed our babies?” Some thoughts, as a mom of young kids and observing other moms: 1. Some women try really really hard to breastfeed, and due to various reasons it just doesn’t work. They can’t produce enough milk no matter what they do, or trying stresses them out so much it ruins their bonding experience with baby. (Interesting: a woman’s body makes milk in a closed feedback loop— the more baby consumes, the more her body is supposed to produce, and vice versa.) 2. It’s really really hard for working mothers. You have to lug a pump to work and take multiple 20-minute (minimum) breaks per day to pump milk, store it in a fridge, and bring it home. Your supply shrinks because the pump is less efficient at extracting the milk than a baby is. How many women who work in a fast food restaurant or Amazon warehouse have the luxury to do this? 3. Even mothers who do breastfeed often supplement with formula (see #2). 4. There may be a cultural component too… Here I am really ignorant, just recalling a story my former nanny told me about her sister. Something about the doctor giving her something to stop her milk when the baby was a few weeks old.