- The shortage of baby formula in the US has triggered a crisis among parents.
- The demand for the product vastly outweighs supply at the moment.
- Parents have told Insider that they're struggling to feed their children.
When Kelly Bernarducci read that the formula she'd been feeding her premature baby had been recalled, she checked the batch number of the cans in her kitchen.
"Every single one was part of the recall," she said.
Days before the discovery in February, the Ossining, New York, mom had taken her daughter, Logan — who was born six weeks early — to the hospital because of her acute digestive problems.
The 33-year-old mom told Insider that she was concerned that Alimentum, the formula she'd been using, may have caused Logan's difficulties. It was one of three powdered brands recalled by their manufacturer, Abbott Nutrition.
The firm took the drastic measure after the Food and Drug Administration found that one of Abbott's facilities was unsanitary.
The FDA advised consumers to not use the powdered form of Alimentum, Similac, or Elecare following reports of bacterial infections among children who had consumed them. Two of the products have since been linked to the deaths of two babies.
"I called Logan's gastro specialist, who said it made a lot of sense as to why she was having the issues," Bernarducci said about her infant's sickness. "It felt like we'd been poisoning her."
She told Insider that Logan's gastroenterologist had not confirmed her suspicions, but she believes that the recalled formula was behind her daughter's health concerns.
But Bernarducci is now facing another problem. There is a shortage of the replacement formula Logan's doctor recommended. "It's been so hard to find," Bernarducci said. She has become increasingly worried that she will not be able to ensure that Logan's nutritional needs are met in the future.
Bernarducci is among hundreds of thousands of parents the US shortage has affected so far.
Issues with the supply chain and recalls of certain brands have caused the shortage
Manufacturers are having trouble sourcing key ingredients and packaging. They've also had difficulties recruiting people to staff their factories due to the labor shortage. The situation has become so bad that stores such as CVS and Walgreens have imposed limits on the amount of formula that customers can buy at one time.
The crisis is particularly worrying for parents whose babies have food allergies or must be tube-fed.
Alison Zanella, who lives near Detroit, told Insider that she can't find enough formula to feed her 5-year-old son, Dominic.
Zanella said Dominic has a rare form of neuromuscular disease. As a result, he needs to be fed formula four times a day through a gastronomy tube attached to his abdomen. The kindergartener is also allergic to foods such as dairy, eggs, wheat, peanuts, and tree nuts. The combination of his genetic condition and allergies means he can tolerate only one type of formula. The brand, Neocate, is one of those that has been affected by the shortage.
Zanella first became aware of the issue in March when the family's medical-supply company broke the news that the formula was on indefinite back order.
"It completely took us by surprise," she said. "We'd had problems in the past because of shipping delays but this was very concerning because we only had two days' worth of formula left."
She contacted Dominic's gastroenterologist to ask for help. According to Zanella, a nurse told her that at least 120 other patients were in the same position and that they would have to place Dominic at the bottom of the list for any formula that became available.
"I said to the nurse, 'So what am I supposed to feed him?'" Zanella recalled. "And she said, 'Sugar water and Pedialyte.' I panicked internally."
But Zanella was determined to find a solution. She reached out to Dominic's nutritionist at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, who managed to arrange a shipment of a similar formula to be sent to them. "It's a bigger hospital, so they have more resources," Zanella said.
Dominic is getting by with the new formula, but, according to Zanella, his doctors believe the switch may have caused a recent bout of stomach problems. "They said they would try and get him off of the formula altogether," she said. "But nobody knows whether it will work."
Parents are wondering how they will feed their babies
Lia Daley, whose 5-month-old son, DJ, can only be fed with hypoallergenic formula, is also worried about the shortage.
The formula she started using after DJ was diagnosed with a milk allergy was among the products Abbott Nutrition recalled. She tried some alternative brands, but said her son suffered a range of stomach issues as a result.
"His reflux was very bad to the point where he would choke," Daley said. "He'd struggle to breathe and we got really scared. It was very hard to see."
Next, DJ's pediatrician switched him to a specialized formula called Nutramigen. Daley, of Dobbs Ferry, New York, told Insider that DJ's gastronomic problems soon abated.
However, since Nutramigen is in short supply, the mom has had to scour the shelves of local pharmacies and grocery stores in a desperate bid to find the product. She has visited a number of stores in her area to try and locate even just one or two cans of the powder.
"There's way more demand than supply," Daley told Insider. "It's incredibly stressful. When your baby has a milk allergy, you heavily rely on the formula they're doing well on."
It's not only the parents of children with allergies or other specific needs who are battling to cope with the shortage.
Jessica Booth, of Long Island, New York, said her 5-month-old daughter, Angelina, doesn't have special dietary requirements, but she still can't find enough bottles of Similac 360 Advance Line, the formula that her baby is used to.
"It's stressful enough being a new mom, whether it's your first, second, third child, or whatever, but this is an extra layer of stress," said Booth, who has long been searching for the product online and in stores such as Target.
The 34-year-old freelance writer used to supplement Angelina's formula with breast milk as a means of making it last longer. But, she said, she had to stop pumping because she was not producing enough milk and the process had became painful.
Booth said that she's been unable to find any information on the manufacturers' websites as to when the formula shortage might be resolved.
"It's incredibly frustrating," she said. "I just want to be able to know that I can feed my baby."