Advice on coping with baby formula shortage
As the nationwide baby formula shortage persists, Bay Area health officials have released guidance for parents unable to get the products they need.
In a joint statement Friday, officials from all nine Bay Area counties, plus San Benito County and the city of Berkeley, noted that while California is faring better than many other states in the shortage, parents having trouble finding their baby’s formula should use caution when looking for alternatives.
“Babies need the right balance of nutrients — not too much or too little of anything — to grow and be healthy,” the statement said. “It is important for your baby’s health to use products that meet federal standards to ensure the formula is safe and free of harmful bacteria.”
The federal government in the past week has announced several actions to alleviate the shortage, including increasing imports of formula from other countries and easing restrictions on what kinds of formula people using government assistance can purchase. On Wednesday, President Biden invoked the Defense Production Act to speed domestic manufacturing of infant formula by eliminating supply-chain bottlenecks.
In the meantime, Bay Area health officials advised parents to take these actions:
Consult your pediatrician or local WIC agency before making substitutions to your baby’s formula, especially if the baby requires a specialized formula. Doctors will be able to point patients to safe alternatives.
For parents who are breastfeeding or are able to, you should continue doing so. If possible, you might also reach out to a lactation care provider to get support in maintaining or increasing your milk supply by breastfeeding more.
Apply to the WIC program, the government’s special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children. Health officials noted that about half of all births in California are in low-income families that qualify for the WIC program. Income-eligible families receive a WIC card that they can use to buy a limited amount of formula at participating stores. WIC offices are staffed by people with close ties to their communities, officials said.
Existing WIC clients should use their benefits for formula earlier in the month.
Share resources widely. If you spot infant formula in stock when you’re shopping, share the information with your network.
Health officials also strongly warned people against making their own formula; watering down formula to make it last longer; using expired formula; using cow’s, goat’s, or plant-based milk; for formula or giving toddler formula to infants.
“Doing so can reduce the amount of nutrients a baby receives and can lead to potential serious health complications,” the statement said.
Officials noted that if no other options exist, children over 6 months may be able to have whole, pasteurized cow’s milk, though it “not ideal and should not be done for more than one week.” Officials recommended checking with your pediatrician before using this option.
The shortage was caused in part by the safety-related closure of an Abbott formula plant, the company’s largest in the nation. Just four companies — Abbott, Gerber, Perrigo and Reckitt — produce an estimated 90% of U.S. formula, making the industry extremely vulnerable to disruptions.
Abbott maintains that it has found no evidence linking its formulas to the contamination that prompted the recall when the formula caused two infants to become sick and two more to die, but the Food and Drug Administration published a list of problems in March following an inspection, including lax safety and sanitary standards and a history of bacterial contamination in several parts of the plant, the Associated Press reported.
The FDA commissioner told lawmakers Thursday that the plant could reopen as soon as this week, though the company is required to overhaul its safety protocols and procedures before resuming production.
Abbott said in a statement it will take six to eight weeks for formula to make it to store shelves once the plant reopens.