What you can and can’t do to get through the infant formula shortage, according
The California doctor has been getting phone calls, emails and social media messages — not just from her patients but from families all over the United States — along with photos of empty store shelves that once held infant formula.
“It’s scary for these moms and their babies, and it’s becoming a real issue,” Altmann said.
Can I make formula at home?
No.
“There is a lot of discussion about making your own formula at home and things of that sort, and I really want to discourage that as much as possible,” Abrams said.
Formulas are complex, and researchers spent years developing the right ratio to give babies the nutrients they need, Altmann said.
Infant formulas must be dense with protein, fat, vitamins and minerals, many of which you can’t buy at the grocery store. And the balance must be precise for babies’ health and development, she added.
“You can see how it would be really hard to duplicate in your own kitchen,” she said.
Homemade formulas can result in a baby not getting the right nutrition or having the ratio of their electrolytes disrupted, which can be dangerous, Altmann said. There have also been cases of bacterial contamination, which can make the infants sick.
Can I stretch out my formula supply?
No.
Adding in other food sources or adding more water to formula is tempting as you get close to the end of your last container of formula, but pediatricians said it’s not a good idea.
Families can start introducing solids into an infant’s diet when the baby is around 4 to 6 months old, Altmann said. But these foods are not a nutritional substitute for formula at that age.
“Even when you start solids, breast milk or infant formula is still the major source of nutrition for your baby,” Altmann said.
And adding extra water to stretch the formula you have can dilute the essential nutrient profile and lead to serious health issues and interfere with proper growth and development, she added.
“We’re not irrational. If there is nothing you can put in the baby’s mouth except cow’s milk, you’re going to do that,” Abrams said. “But that’s not what we want people to do.”
Can I use toddler formula or cow’s milk instead?
Maybe.
It really depends on how old your baby is and what your pediatrician says.
For the first six months at least, formula specified for infants is really important, Altmann said. But the closer they are to a year, there may be more flexibility.
“You can actually choose a toddler formula at that point where normally you’d want to wait until they’re exactly a year of age,” Altmann said. “Talk to your pediatrician, always, first.”
“We discourage the use of cow’s milk until a year of age but it’s certainly true that as the baby is close to a year of age, especially if it’s simply no formula to be found, that you could use either that or a toddler formula,” Abrams said. “Neither are ideal, but the closer you are to the year, especially for the short term, those are alternatives.”
Can I buy international formulas online?
Maybe.
Altmann said there are some high-quality products made in Europe and Australia she likes that are available online. But it is important to make sure you are ordering from reputable retailers.
She recommended buying from trusted pharmacies of the country the formula is from and checking how the formula’s nutrition compares to FDA-approved formula.
“Not all international formulas are created equally so you may want to make sure you know what you are getting and…
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