Is "Fed Is Best" Really Feeding Us the Truth?

I couldn’t help but wonder — when did feeding your baby become a branding exercise?

Once upon a time, mothers nursed their babies because that’s just what you did. Then came formula — a symbol of modernity, convenience, and the working woman’s emancipation. But now, somewhere between Instagram motherhood and corporate feminism, we’ve landed on a phrase that’s supposed to tie it all together neatly, like a pastel ribbon on a hospital gift bag: “Fed Is Best.”

At first glance, it sounds comforting, doesn’t it? It seems to come across as inclusive, kind, and simple — the verbal equivalent of a warm blanket. But beneath its soft tones and hashtag-friendly appeal, lies something much colder and more insidious: the formula companies' marketing strategies that rely on the assumption that women are so fragile, so uninformed, that they need to be told the obvious — that babies should be fed.

Let’s pause there. Because when a marketing slogan hidden as a hashtag reduces something as epic and complex as motherhood to the most basic biological act — feeding your baby — what it’s really doing is horribly underestimating women. It implies that mothers need reassurance for something they already instinctively know to do, while subtly shifting the conversation away from the why — why so many women struggle to breastfeed, why access to effective lactation support is limited, and why formula companies continue to spend billions to make sure their product is the solution to every problem they helped create.

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The Business of Being “Best”

Here’s the truth no one puts on the billboard: “Fed Is Best” isn’t a movement — it’s a marketing strategy.

Formula companies have long known that guilt is a powerful sales tool. For decades, they’ve toggled between shaming and soothing mothers, depending on which tactic moves more units. In the 1950s and 60s, ads told women that “modern mothers” used formula because it was scientific and civilized. In the 80s and 90s, they pivoted — pushing the narrative that formula was nearly identical to breast milk (which is horrendously untrue), conveniently packaged and available without the "mess" or midnight cluster feeds.

Now, in the age of emotional branding, they’ve mastered the ultimate manipulation: selling validation. “Fed Is Best” pretends to erase the guilt, but in doing so, it cements formula as the neutral default, the safety net you’ll likely eventually fall into — and pay for — when breastfeeding feels hard, inconvenient, or unsupported.

BTW - it's important to note, that this blog is NOT talking about those who have rare and specific medically diagnosed conditions that prevent a woman with those conditions to breastfeed effectively. These women are real and it should go without saying that access to formula can and does save those lives. But we do need to give much more thought and consideration to the overwhelming majority of breastfeeding cases that do not involve these rare conditions. Yet these women have very real and long lasting physical and emotional damage that is done to them and their babies, because of the variation of normal issues that can arise during most breastfeeding journeys.

Let's do the math for a second. The average can of formula costs anywhere from $20 to $60, depending on the brand and country you're purchasing it in. A baby can go through up to $6,000 worth in a year. And yet, IBCLC lactation consultants — the real allies helping mothers feed their babies — are often not covered by insurance companies or universal healthcare plans. So when corporations say “Fed Is Best,” what they really mean is “Buy our product. You’re doing great, mama so long as you do that.”

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Feeding the Narrative

But there’s another layer to this — and it’s not wrapped in foil or stored in a cabinet. It’s economic.

“Fed Is Best” doesn’t just speak to mothers; it targets them, especially those economically already under huge pressure. For low-income families, formula isn’t a convenience — it’s a financial burden. When access to paid maternity leave, breastfeeding spaces, or workplace pumping accommodations is nearly nonexistent, or very hard at the least, formula becomes less a choice and more of a necessity. And yet, those same companies who profit from that necessity, wrap their marketing up in faux empowerment slogans, as if to say: “See? You’re not failing. You’re modern.”

Meanwhile, the same system that tells women “any way you feed is fine” does little to support the infrastructure that makes breastfeeding possible. Hospitals hand out formula samples like party favors, because formula companies give financial kickbacks to them. Governments subsidize formula because once again, they are financially offered incentives by formula companies to do so, but no incentives are offered for free access to effective lactation services. And most public spaces — even still in 2025 — make nursing mothers feel like inappropriate exhibitionists for doing something that literally sustains life for their babies.

So who does “Fed Is Best” really serve? It doesn’t serve the mother who can’t afford formula or the one who’s desperate to keep breastfeeding but can’t get help. It most certainly does not serve the babies who are statistically at a higher risk for developing health issues like diabetes and immune disorders when on formula versus breastmilk.

It DOES serve the shareholders, though, who profit from a message that makes mothers feel "seen" — but not actually seen. Only seen through the lens of consumption and consumerism.

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Motherhood, Monetized

Let’s face it — motherhood has become a marketplace. From organic onesies to probiotic pacifiers, there’s a product for every insecurity. Formula companies just happen to have perfected the art of selling relief.

When you’re exhausted, hormonal, and second-guessing every decision, “Fed Is Best” feels like a hug. But it’s a hug that comes with a price tag. The slogan thrives on emotional exhaustion — the exact state new mothers are in when they see it splashed across an ad, or whispered by a well-meaning influencer holding a sponsored bottle.

And while it pretends to be inclusive — a message of acceptance for mothers who can’t or choose not to breastfeed — it simultaneously erases the social inequalities that make breastfeeding harder for some women than others. Low-income mothers, women of color, and single parents are disproportionately targeted by formula marketing campaigns. They’re told that breastfeeding is unrealistic, messy, or for the privileged — and that “Fed Is Best” is the equalizer.

But here’s the uncomfortable truth: it’s not equality if the solution is something you have to buy.

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The Intelligence of Instinct

There’s something profoundly condescending about a slogan that assumes women don’t already know the importance of feeding their babies. “Fed Is Best” presents itself as a balm for guilt, but it’s built on the same patronizing foundation that has long underestimated maternal intelligence.

Most mothers don’t need to be told what to do — they need support to do it. They need maternity leave that doesn’t force them back to work at six weeks postpartum. They need lactation consultants in every hospital, not free formula samples. They need clean, private places to pump. They need information that’s unbiased, accessible, and free from corporate sponsorship.

The real “best” isn’t fed or breastfed — it’s supported. It’s the mother who’s empowered with knowledge and resources, not slogans.

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Reclaiming the Narrative

Maybe it’s time to retire “Fed Is Best” and start saying what we actually mean. Because when we reduce motherhood to a single word — “fed” — we strip it of its complexity, its struggle, and its strength. Feeding isn’t just about calories; it’s about connection, survival, and the invisible labor that society still refuses to value.

We can celebrate all mothers without condescending to them. We can acknowledge that formula saves lives without pretending it’s a feminist choice when it’s often an economic one. And we can reject corporate compassion dressed up as advocacy.

Because mothers don’t need slogans — they need systems that work.

So the next time someone says, “Fed Is Best,” maybe we should smile politely and ask: For whom?

Because if feeding our babies has become just another way for corporations to feed on us, maybe it’s time we stopped swallowing their lines — and started writing our own.

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