Suggestions to “Just Breastfeed” Incite Shame and Comparison for the 83% of Formula-Feeding Parents
Bobbie, the only mom-founded and led infant formula company in the U.S., is joining forces with Ashley Graham, founding member of the Bobbie MotherBoard, supermodel, entrepreneur, and mom of three, to evolve the conversation around how we choose to feed our babies. Today, Graham makes history as the first parent to ever combo feed her babies with breastmilk and formula on billboards across the country (also known as combo feeding). In doing so, she reveals for the first time publicly her own feeding journey.
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There is no one size feeds all. (Photo: Business Wire)
Ashley is speaking out to represent and support the silent majority – the 70% of formula-feeding parents who also combo feed their babies. Feeding is not linear, it’s not either/or, and each parent gets to choose what works best for them and their family. But no one’s talking about it, so Bobbie & Ashley will.
How did we get here?
- 83% of parents rely on formula during their baby’s first year.
- 70% of formula-feeding parents are combo feeding, meaning they use some combination of breastmilk and formula.
- 64% of parents feel judged for feeding their baby formula and nearly half (46%) have lied about their feeding choices.
- The cultural stigma and shame surrounding formula is NOT acceptable and must evolve.
Against the backdrop of the U.S. formula shortage, with all eyes on the industry like never before, compounded with added shame on “moms who should just breastfeed,” the time to create cultural change that supports all parents and all feeding journeys is now. As a founding member of the Bobbie MotherBoard, Graham represents the inaugural collective of four activist parents and changemakers working alongside Bobbie to advocate for meaningful change across the formula industry, from upleveled nutritional standards to the evolving feeding culture. As a natural extension of this work, throughout the month of September, Bobbie and Graham are seizing the moment to normalize combo feeding – moving away from the “breast is best” versus “fed is best” rhetoric that incites divisiveness, shame and comparison. Bobbie’s campaign seeks to move toward the not-so-radical idea that best is BS. Ultimately, one size does not feed all.
“Feeding your babies is as personal as it gets. After solely breastfeeding my first son for 13 months, I thought I was going to need a different plan for my twins,” said Ashley Graham, Founding Member of the Bobbie MotherBoard, supermodel, entrepreneur and mom of three. “When the time came I knew combo-feeding would be best for us. That worked really well for 6 months and now I’m exclusively formula feeding and it’s fantastic. For many parents, there's often a series of decisions that play out over the course of your feeding experience -- and no matter where you are on that journey, there is no wrong choice. ”
Continuing Bobbie’s ethos of mission over sales, the goal of this campaign is purely to incite cultural change and evolve the conversation around how we feed our babies. In order to make combo feeding something we talk about and embrace without justification, we must replace shame with confidence and support. In order to do this, we must start the conversation – be it in person, virtually, with your pediatrician, in your group texts, on a billboard, or in a magazine on your coffee table. Here’s how Bobbie and Ashley Graham are showing up throughout September to do just that:
- We’ll Text You - Parents in the Bobbie Fam and beyond will have the opportunity to sign up for exclusive texts from Ashley Graham herself, to follow along on her feeding journey, receive educational content on combo feeding and be a part of a supportive community of parents.
- We’ll Show Up - Ashley Graham will make history as the first parent to combo feed her babies on billboards across the country. See it for yourself in LA (7673 Melrose Avenue) and NY (234 Canal Street).
- We’ll Support You - Bobbie-hosted combo feeding educational events for parents who are combo feeding or combo-curious on 9/13 and 9/26 with our friends at NAPS and Hatch.
“As a new mom, you enter this journey assuming you’ll breastfeed, and it will be this beautiful experience. But for the majority of us, that’s not the reality. It certainly wasn’t for me,” said Laura Modi, CEO and Co-Founder of Bobbie, and mom of three. “More than anything, it was the immense shame I felt turning to formula that fueled me to create an Organic, high quality alternative. I envisioned a world where formula could instill a sense of confidence, rather than comparison, and that’s what we’ve been building ever since. No matter what your feeding journey looks like, as a parent, you deserve to feel good about it. Full stop.”
To join us as we evolve the conversation around how we feed our babies, visit: www.yourbestisbest.com.
About Bobbie:
Bobbie is an Organic Infant Formula company that exists to build a parenting culture of confidence, not comparison, where every parent is supported in the feeding choice that is right for them and their baby. Bobbie launched in 2021 as the first direct-to-consumer, subscription-based infant formula company in the US. Today, Bobbie is the only mom-founded and led infant formula in the country and the fastest growing infant formula to enter the US market since the 1980s. Bobbie’s recipe is modeled after breastmilk and designed to meet the most recent EU nutritional standards for critical ingredients like DHA and iron, while also complying with all FDA nutritional standards for infant formula. Bobbie is focused on providing a purposefully sourced, USDA Organic infant formula with Organic Valley milk from pasture raised cows. It was the first-ever infant formula to receive the Clean Label Project Purity Award and certification as a Pesticide-Free Product. Bobbie was founded in 2018, is based in San Francisco, and is venture-backed. For more information on Bobbie, visit www.hibobbie.com, and follow Bobbie on Instagram @bobbie.
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Contacts
Press inquiries: press@hibobbie.com
