I'm a dude..and my wife and I had two kids...and my wife breast fed them. Until they could transition to juices and food..........
They never had formula....
I breastfed my 4 kids in the late 1990s early 2000s. I worked p/t and pumped. I think it would be tough to work full time and pump. Breastfeeding has been presented as a choice but a real problem is the non “laptop class” women needing to work full time outside the home. They can’t breastfeed as easily as pumping is less efficient than actual breastfeeding (get less milk).
This crisis does show that the choice of formula as a substitute is not an innocuous one. Human breast milk is a superior product and doesn’t have supply chain issues and best of all is free.
Some women’s milk doesn’t come in, there isn’t enough, the baby isn’t thriving or the mother just can’t get comfortable breast feeding and or pumping. Personal choice or no choice—it’s all alright.
I breast fed mine because I found it less trouble to pack up and go. My friend and me took our sons to the zoo and that trip proved me just what a pita bottles were. She had a bunch of trouble and worry, I just needed a receiving blanket.
In a first world rich country a mother and child could have confidence that whatever their choice or situation is feeding wasn’t a problem. It’s no longer so and our problems are more numerous than formula.