Thankfully nobody's likely to be reading HN for advice on breastfeeding, debunked or not. :-) They're going to look at the recommendations of the WHO, their country's equivalent or talk to their doctor or midwife. All of which would recommend breastfeeding, since that's the current scientific consensus. The EU in particular highlights the importance of breastfeeding for at least six months.

I'll say this though - breastfeeding can be a complete mystery for new parents and doctors are often clueless about it. A competent midwife which is familiar with the typical issues is priceless. It's good that there's formula available for those cases where the woman can't breastfeed or the baby is having difficulties and the parent's don't know what to do and can't find competent help.

In the EU, the parents get a number of months which can be split between them. Fathers in Germany for example take a few months off. Because breastfeeding, because moms often want to spend time with their babies and yes, sadly often also because they earn more.