Mothers Face Difficulties During Formula Shortage

PINEVILLE — Many mothers have faced struggles following the nationwide formula shortage and formula recalls; three McDonald County mothers join the struggle. McDonald County moms Shaenna White, Caitlynn Sedillos and Nicole Blevins were forced to change course concerning their babies’ diets during the nationwide formula shortage.

Shaenna “Shae” White is mother to 4-month-old Alaina, who requires colic-specific formula. White said, when the shortage started, she could not find the formula Alaina required, nor could she find a good substitute, forcing her to purchase a formula that causes her baby digestive issues.

“Her digestion isn’t great,” White said. “She spits up a lot more. I’ve had to go to the doctor just about her spitting up so much but I can’t do anything about it because I can’t find her formula.”

White said she was no longer able to produce milk for Alaina when she could no longer acquire her sensitive-stomach formula, noting Alaina is already eating table food — something White didn’t want to do until her daughter was six months old.

“I’m worried about the health of Alaina,” White said. “I don’t know what could happen if colic isn’t fixed with her diet. I’m worried that she’s not going to accept food very well,” White said, expanding on Alania’s poor digestion when straying from her formula.

White said she’s been out of her daughter’s formula for six weeks. White added that she’s looked for formulas through other mothers, some of which have been gouging the prices of formula they’re selling.

“I did get really desperate and I almost bought formula from one lady for a ridiculous amount,” White said.

White said her daughter has been on more medicine since she’s been out of formula, noting she’s on medicine for gas and stomach issues. White said that, through the shortage, she’s felt defeated, pointing out how helpless she’s felt.

“I was in Walmart that first day, where I was so desperate for formula. And she wouldn’t stop crying because she was so hungry,” White said. “And I wasn’t producing anything. I went to Walmart

that day, and I was crying in the aisle,” White said, adding that Walmart employees could not tell her when the store would receive more formula.

Caitlynn Sedillos, mother to 7-month-old Kyson, said she’s struggled with her son’s diet since he was born — noting Kyson was born three weeks prematurely. Sedillos said Kyson was in the NICU for a week after birth, and that NICU nurses were feeding him formula half the time, and Sedillos’ breast milk the other half.

After leaving the hospital, Kyson struggled with breastfeeding and Sedillos soon learned that he was allergic to her breastmilk after his pediatrician pointed out a lactose insensitivity, leading Kyson to eat the formula he’d been given in the NICU.

Sedillos said, since the shortage has started, Kyson’s formula, one of the only formulas he could eat, is no longer being produced or available locally. Sedillos said she’s struggled to find food for her son and has resorted to switching his formula and asking friends and family members for help.

“We’ve been able to get shipments from family [members] that are states away,” Sedillos said. “So, luckily, we’ve never run out of the sensitive formula, but we’ve had to switch from what he was on initially.”

Sedillos said, since the shortage, she’s gotten more anxious, noting she’s worried she won’t be able to feed her son.

“I feel like, as a mother, you instantly get more anxious not worrying just about yourself but about your child,” Sedillos said. “When the shortage happened, I was freaked out because I felt like I wasn’t able to feed my child. And I couldn’t nurse him.”

Sedillos said she feels that she’s being judged because she can’t nurse Kyson, while she’s worried about him being able to eat overall.

“It was really stressful knowing that there is an issue trying to feed my infant who is supposed to be able to survive off of this,” Sedillos said.

Nicole Blevins, mother of three, with 11-month-old twins, said her twins were on formula for their sensitive stomachs, but that their formula was recalled.

“My babies got sick from the formula. I had to take them into the doctor and they had to get fluids, they had to drink a bottle and a half of Pedialyte each to flush it,” Blevins said. “They ended up with a rash from it.”

Blevins said, after their formula was recalled, she struggled to find a new formula for her twins. Blevins said she was switching formulas so frequently that her twins had stomach issues. She ultimately switched her children to soy milk.

Blevins said soy milk does not have as many nutrients as the formula they were on, but that she can’t find formula that meets their needs without giving them digestive issues.

“It’s aggravating and it’s really sad because my kids have had diaper rashes from us trying different formulas that aren’t agreeing with them,” Blevins said. “And they’re not tolerating it by throwing up. It’s extra added stress.”

Many mothers have found some support from the local WIC office, and hope that formulas will soon be available in stores again.