How much do you earn per hour? $11? $20? $100? Chances are, if you work a job, you are compensated in at least some way. Breastfeeding, on the other hand, is basically a full time job that women aren't paid for.

Don't believe me? It's recommended that a newborn be offered milk every 2 to 3 hours, and can take 20 to 45 minutes to nurse. Under that recommendation alone, a woman might spend as little as 18.6 hours nursing, or as much as 63 hours. Did I mention that the nursing clock starts from the BEGINNING of the last feeding? So if the baby takes longer to nurse, or has any reason to lengthen their feeding time, a new mother could conceivably spend the majority of her day feeding her baby.

This is time that could be used another way: working a job or completing domestic tasks, or pursuing hobbies or spending quality time with the rest of the family. The constant feeding does usually pass in a few months, but in that short time, mom is essentially performing indispensable labor for no financial gain.

So the next time you see someone shaming a mom for using formula, remember that feeding a baby is never 'free.'

Photo: Pumped breast milk. Wikipedia.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Formula_and_breastmilk.jpg