Cardi B is pregnant with her fourth baby, and she seemingly plans to combo feed as a busy working mom.
In support of “The B is for Bobbie” campaign — run by organic infant formula brand Bobbie to reduce feeding shame and advocate for issues like the U.S. maternal mortality crisis and the lack of paid family leave — Cardi B, 33, said most moms “can’t spend time just sitting down” to breast-feed or pump.
Although she champions any feeding choice, Cardi B — or “Cardi Bobbie, Chief Confidence Officer,” as she’s known in the campaign — recognizes that working moms oftentimes need more support.
“Breast-feeding also takes a lot of time and some women gotta go straight to work to feed their families and take care of their kids and s***,” the rapper said during a livestream on X Spaces on Thursday, October 16, per People.
“They can’t spend time just sitting down,” she continued. “Pumping takes literally your whole f***ing day. Pumping is not something easy to do. There’s women that gotta go to work. There’s women that, they just have to depend on the formula.”
“However you feed your baby, just make sure you do it with confidence,” she added to a fellow mom in a Bobbie ad.
The Grammy winner also told Vogue on Wednesday, October 15, that she herself used formula after struggling with breast-feeding and postpartum depression.
“Sometimes your baby wants to eat in two hours and sometimes your baby wants to eat in 45 minutes, and it takes me two hours just to produce two ounces of milk,” she said. “It almost made me feel like, ‘Does it make me less of a woman if I can’t produce as much milk as the next woman?’ I don’t think people understand how frustrating it is.”
Cardi B reiterated that moms should focus more on ensuring their babies are receiving proper nutrition than whether it’s from breast milk or formula.
“You’re not a bad mom for giving your baby formula,” she told Vogue. “You know what’s bad? Not feeding your kid.”
The “WAP” singer saluted Bobbie for not only their products but for how they bring attention to issues like the maternal mortality rate and the lack of paid leave for parents. On X Spaces, she commended the brand for “fighting every other week at the White House” and “always fighting for better care for Black and Brown women.”
According to the CDC, in the U.S. in 2023, 18.6 out of 100,000 live births ended in the death of a mother. And racial and ethnic disparities persist, with Black women having a significantly higher rate (50.3 per 100,000 live births) than White women (14.5) and Hispanic women (12.4). The numbers also vary by age, with older women experiencing higher rates.
“From passing federal paid leave to tackling the maternal health crisis, we’ve been at this work with 4Kira4Moms, Paid Leave for All, and birthFUND from the start,” Bobbie shared on their website of the organizations they support to better the lives of mothers and babies.
Cardi announced in September that she is expecting her fourth baby, her first with her NFL star boyfriend Stefon Diggs. She is also mom of daughter Kulture Kiari Cephus, 7, son Wave Set Cephus, 4, and daughter Blossom, 13 months, whom she shares with her estranged husband Offset.
Bobbie is the first baby brand Cardi B has ever partnered with. In her interview with Vogue, she shared how motherhood has completely changed her outlook on life.
“I don’t want people thinking that I’m just heading back to work; this is my coping mechanism,” she said of being a parent in the music industry. “I don’t want everybody thinking it’s the same for them, and I don’t want the system to think because I did it everyone should. Having your first baby really rocks your world. It is a big deal. And it is hard. And it is life-changing.”