SUMMARY:
- Breast or bottle, why is the subject so divisive?
- Breastfeeding or bottle-feeding: breaking the chains of guilt
- Making the best choice for baby and mom
- Choosing a nursing bottle for your child
At your child's birth (and even before), you are faced with many decisions. Choosing between breastfeeding and bottle-feeding is one of them, right from the very first moments. This question, as intimate as it is, is subject to intense debates—it blends personal history, social pressure, contradictory advice, and judgment, often forgetting what truly matters: the happiness of mother and child. Feeding your baby is also about cultivating a strong and joyful family bond, no matter the method chosen. So, breastfeed or bottle-feed? Above all, express your love without guilt.
Breast or bottle, why is the subject so divisive?
The benefits of breast milk are real and well established. It's easy to digest, rich in nutrients, and tailored to a baby's needs according to their age... Breastfeeding is also the source of a unique intimacy and symbiosis between mother and infant. However, breastfeeding is sometimes described as painful and restrictive, tough on the chest, very exhausting, and not always nourishing enough for the child.
Meanwhile, bottle-feeding allows you to know exactly how much milk your baby is drinking, helps you maintain a more regular feeding/sleeping schedule, and enables both parents to share feeding responsibilities. However, bottles are often criticized for being mostly made of plastic and for using powdered formula that is frequently maligned and expensive.
There are pros and cons on both sides. After decades of praise for bottle-feeding, the pendulum has swung. In recent years, the glorification of breastfeeding has returned. Even before leaving the hospital, mothers are asked to make a choice. Many report that this decision doesn’t feel as free and respected as it should be.
Bottle-feeding with tenderness: a dance of shared emotions
Sharing a bottle means both nourishing your baby and nurturing their senses. A gentle alternative to breastfeeding, bottle-feeding blends infant formula or breast milk, and both maternal and paternal love. Thanks to this, the whole family—from siblings to grandparents—can take part in the intimate, bonding moment of feeding the baby.
How many fathers discover their newborn and all their little expressions while giving the first bottles? How many feel the power of the father-child bond? Through these first shared moments, the concepts of sharing, support, and responsibility are introduced—laying the foundation of family life together.
Yet, while the French Ministry of Health—like the WHO—recommends exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, many people criticize bottle-feeding as being primarily a convenient option for moms.
Breastfeeding in symbiosis: an embrace of passionate love
Breastfeeding your child is like an incredible sensory journey where intimacy and connection are established in the most natural and instinctive way. The softness of skin-to-skin, eye contact, scents, caresses, and whispers—all make breastfeeding a personal and positive experience, going far beyond basic nutrition for the newborn and benefits for the mother.
At the same time, breastfeeding can be a real challenge. Low milk supply, baby positioning, sleepless nights, mother's diet, breastfeeding in public... Some even describe it as anti-feminist.
Breastfeeding or bottle-feeding: breaking the chains of guilt
"Are you going to breastfeed?" at home, or "Are you going to breastfeed him/her?" at the hospital—it’s the question everyone asks. "Breastfeeding is better for your baby." "You should give the breast—it's so practical." "Babies prefer breast milk." "What do you mean you can't get him to latch?" "Why, don’t you like breastfeeding?"
It's true, breastfeeding may be practical, economical, enjoyable, easy, even magical, but only if it's truly your decision.
As for bottle-feeding, it has been seen as a tool of women's liberation, giving freedom over body and time, but then as a dangerous vessel for microplastics. Infant formula itself has long been criticized for poor quality.
Today, more open discussion about topics such as birth, delivery, postpartum, and breastfeeding allows new mothers to make choices and own them more freely. The quality of powdered formulas has improved, while Élhée has chosen to develop a healthy, sensory bottle—offering a unique blend of sensibility and safety.
Yet, all these questions (and sometimes opposing ones) have caused mothers and parents to doubt their own judgment, and many moms have seen their self-confidence erode. This painful situation still too often leads to reluctant, difficult breastfeeding experiences and a growing sense of guilt among mothers toward their babies.
What if kindness was the key? What if listening only to yourself and your instinct could lighten doubt and guilt? Let's not doubt that every parent above all else feeds their child with love and does it best when feeling at peace.
Society and motherhood: the weight of shame
Society’s gaze on mothers and motherhood can be demanding and overwhelming. Expectations placed on new mothers are often idealized, especially regarding breastfeeding, sometimes presented as the ultimate way to show love, care, and devotion.
This pressure, expressed through recommendations, advice, opinions, and sometimes criticism, creates a gap between the fantasy and reality of breastfeeding. Is breastfeeding presented as simple and natural? Yet, it’s absolutely normal and common to experience nursing difficulties, fatigue, and challenges expressing milk. This situation can easily trigger shame and guilt, especially for mothers for whom breastfeeding does not go smoothly.
Because every family is unique, the choice to breastfeed or bottle-feed is a deeply personal decision that should never be influenced.
The war of boobs
Society still too often pits the image of the devoted mother against the liberated woman who lives for herself—the maternal breast versus the sensual breast. This conflict strongly reflects the question of whether or not to breastfeed. Those who choose the bottle may be accused of prioritizing their looks (since breastfeeding can change the chest), their appeal, and freedom over the well-being of the child.
Maternal well-being and the wellbeing of the child—too often set against each other
While breastfeeding offers many physiological benefits for both mother and child, on the psychological front, breastfeeding can also be a source of stress. Fear of doing it wrong, fear the baby isn’t getting enough milk or gaining enough weight, lack of time…
Breastfeeding should always be a gentle, shared time between mother and baby. If it causes anxiety or pain, then perhaps bottle-feeding is the better option. Especially since using a breast pump lets you keep giving your milk, even after switching to bottle-feeding.
Women are too often expected to become mothers instantly at their child's birth. But motherhood is a gradual process, and anyone who gives advice to new moms about whether to breastfeed or bottle-feed is intruding on her private life—often without being invited.
Following your instincts and seeking harmony
Beyond outside opinions, it's vital to take time to think, feel, listen, and acknowledge your needs. When it comes to feeding your baby, the emotional parent-baby connection is essential—and just as strong with bottle-feeding as with breastfeeding.
Respecting women and listening to mothers
At the heart of the breastfeeding versus bottle-feeding debate and the question of what's best for newborns, it’s critical not to forget the mothers. The decision to breastfeed should never be made under outside influence, and choosing the bottle should never be seen as the easy way out or as detachment from the child.
On the contrary, respecting your own choice is an act of kindness toward yourself and your child. The essential thing is the love and attention a mother gives her child, whatever the chosen feeding method.
Making the best choice for baby and mom
In 2016, the Department of Psychology at the University of Liverpool conducted a study of 845 mothers with children up to 26 weeks old on how they felt about breastfeeding and mixed feeding (both breast and bottle): 15% said they felt guilty about their choice, 38% felt stigmatized because of it, and 54.5% felt the need to justify it.
A complex situation that highlights how important it is that moms enjoy a choice that’s free and respected—the only way it can be truly positive.
Want to start with breastfeeding and decide later? Dreaming of extended breastfeeding? Are you interested in combo feeding? Planning to bottle-feed from birth, or right after the first welcome feed?
Your choice is and always will be the right one. If you are at peace with your choice, your child will be, too. Just remember that babies are like sponges. A radiant, calm mother is much more beneficial than a stressed one—whether she breastfeeds or bottle-feeds.
Choosing a nursing bottle for your child
At Élhée, we've chosen to promote motherhood and, more broadly, parenting that’s free and without guilt.
At a time when bottle-feeding your baby is still not considered trivial, we've designed and developed a bottle every parent can use without fear and with pride—whether alongside breastfeeding, or instead of it.
Safe, the BibRond is made of medical grade silicone, free from chemicals or microplastics. Nearly as soft and gentle as mom’s breast, the BibRond offers a unique peach-skin touch. Equipped with physiological and anti-colic nipples in slow, medium, or fast flow, the BibRond adapts to a baby’s palate and appetite. Iconic, our nursing bottle supports your family every day and with every choice.
As a breastfeeding supplement, for easing weaning, for mixed feeding as a couple, because you pump your milk, or simply to bottle-feed your newborn, the BibRond Élhée is thoughtfully designed as a celebration of the parent–child bond.
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