New parents face baby formula shortage across the country

Parents across the country and New York are becoming more concerned about finding baby formula at the store.

News 12 Staff

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Apr 11, 2022, 4:19 PM

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Updated 985 days ago

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Parents across the country and New York are becoming more concerned about finding baby formula at the store.

News 12 has learned that there is a significant shortage of product, and some retailers are now limiting how much people can buy.

For those having trouble finding formula, the American Academy of Pediatrics has issued the following recommendations:

Call your pediatrician to see if they can order a can for you.
Check smaller stores, which may not be out of supply when bigger stores are.
If you can afford it, buy formula online until store shortages ease. Purchase from well-recognized distributors and pharmacies rather than individually sold or auction sites.
For most babies, it is OK to switch to any available formula, including store brands, unless your baby is on a specific extensively hydrolyzed one such as Alimentum or Nutramigen. If you are unsure, talk with your pediatrician.
If absolutely no formula can be found, consider borrowing a can from a friend.
The AAP strongly advises against homemade formula. Although recipes for homemade formulas circulating on the internet may seem healthy or less expensive, they are not safe and do not meet your baby's nutritional needs.

Health organizations say you should never water down formula because that can lead to serious health problems. "You have to exactly mix it as the formula the company says. If you dilute the baby formula, then the baby will not get enough nutrition or enough calories," says Sumathi Kasinathan, director of pediatrics at Mount Vernon Neighborhood Health Center

The Mount Vernon Neighborhood Health Center’s WIC program, which offers formula, food and breast feeding support for low income families, can also help you find formula at local stores. "We'll also reach out to vendors ourself. We'll call around and see if they have formulas that the babies need and we'll get back to the parents...tell them, OK, you can go here and there," says Amanda Grande, a nutrition coordinator at WIC Services.

For the entire list of tips plus dos and don’ts from the American Academy of Pediatrics, click here.