This Formula Company Wants to Help You Breastfeed

A polarizing trend has cropped up with infant feeding over the past decade: new moms being pressured to breastfeed, and low-key shamed if they don't. Movements like Fed Is Best have tried to bridge the divide between pro-breastfeeding and pro-formula groups, but there's still often an underlying feeling that you have to choose a side.

In reality, combination feeding—a mix of using formula and breast milk—is extremely common. It’s hard to put an exact number on how many families do it, but one study found that up to 65 percent of moms have fed their babies a combination of formula and breast milk by the time their little one is six weeks old.¹

There are many reasons why parents choose to combination feed, including poor breast milk supply, latching difficulties, formula intolerances, underlying health conditions that prevent babies from getting adequate nutrition, or simply personal preference. Whatever the reason, it's perfectly valid, yet learning how to properly combination feed can be tricky.

That's why organic formula company Bobbie is now offering free lactation services through a program called The Feeding Room. Launched alongside Newborn and Parenting Support (NAPS)—a company that provides support for families in pregnancy, postpartum, and the early childhood stages—this marks the first time that a formula company has partnered with the international board-certified lactation consultants (IBCLCs) to make feeding advice more accessible.

Bobbie founder Laura Modi says this new service was inspired by her own journey as a mom of four. “I breastfed all of my kids, and yet I still struggled to be able to do it exclusively,” she says. “There was no one-stop shop to be able to get the services I needed in that moment.” Modi says it felt “isolating” to be a combination feeder, but she’s learned over time that she’s not the only person who has gone through this.

Here’s what Bobbie’s new lactation support program involves, plus why experts say services like this are long overdue.

What does combination breastfeeding support look like?

Support through The Feeding Room is multifaceted. To start, parents can find the support that feels right for their unique situation by accessing expert-led educational videos on breastfeeding, formula feeding, and combination feeding.

There are also live sessions led by experts, along with group “office hours” hosted by IBCLCs, registered nurses, and moms, so you can ask questions. By the way, you don’t need to be a Bobbie customer to access The Feeding Room—Modi says that all are welcome.

Breastfeeding support is important for all types of feeding

Healthcare providers say no matter what, it's important to feel supported on your infant feeding journey. “Flexibility is so important,” says Tamar Gur, MD, PhD, a reproductive psychiatrist and researcher at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, pointing out that not everyone can or wants to breastfeed.

"For many women who are dedicated to breastfeeding, even with doing every single possible thing right, it doesn’t always work out," Dr. Gur says. “Instead of shaming them and making them feel less-than, which can contribute to postpartum anxiety and postpartum depression, it’s so important to support them wherever the journey takes them," she adds.

Dr. Gur says that “a lot of times we get stuck in this black and white” with infant feeding, but the reality is more gray for a lot of families. Sherry Ross, MD, an OB/GYN and women’s health expert at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, agrees. "It is not unusual to combine formula feeding for persistent struggles with breastfeeding or breast pumping, not producing enough milk, or needing flexibility when going back to work," she adds.

Regardless of your feeding journey, access to a lactation consultant is important if breastfeeding is in the mix, says Rebekah Huppert, RN, BSN, a lactation consultant at the Mayo Clinic. "If parents have easy access to lactation experts, they are able to get help in a timely manner, which can be the difference between catching problems early and problems getting so bad that the solutions are more difficult and time-consuming, sometimes past the point of being able to fix," Huppert says. "It can also reduce the stress a mother feels, just knowing she has a place to go if she starts to develop any issues."

For a lot of families, combination feeding is a super helpful route, Huppert says. "Combination feeding is needed if a baby is not gaining weight as expected, or if the work required to exclusively breast milk feed is becoming too much for a mother," she says.

"Of course, we want to support mothers' goals and love to have breastfed babies, but a mother's mental and emotional state are vital pieces of the puzzle," says Huppert. "Sometimes, altering feeding plans can allow for better outcomes for the family as a whole."

Ultimately, Modi says she hopes The Feeding Room makes combination-feeding moms feel less isolated. "I hope what people can get from this is a safe space where they feel seen and genuinely supported in a holistic way—not feeling that they have to go to one place for one part of their feeding journey and another place for another part," she says.

To access free lactation support services, visit The Feeding Room on Bobbie's website.