What is the ruling on a wife refusing to breastfeed her child from another woman and preferring formula milk, given that we know she is unable to breastfeed her newborn?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
If the wife refuses to allow another woman to breastfeed the child with the husband's consent, there is no blame upon her. However, if it is without his consent, the matter rests with him because he has the primary right and is responsible for the nursing fee. If he believes that breastfeeding by another woman is better for the child, he has that right. The wife should not prevent natural breastfeeding and replace it with formula feeding. Breastfeeding the child by another woman or with formula milk should be by mutual consent between the parents.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/115461
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 115461
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy