Formula milk: Online groups hunt for baby milk during the US shortage
Parents in the US use social media to try to track baby bottle milk – and unsafe methods – in times of scarcity affecting North America.
This week President Joe Biden called on the military to assist in the distribution of goods. This situation is the result of a combination of supply chain problems. With one of the leading US manufacturers having to shut down their industry following pollution.
Rebecca Romo Teague, a broadcaster in Cape Cod. Has set up a local Facebook group where parents can post pictures of children in the corridors of the supermarkets they visit, so that others can see – in real time – where the goods are.
She was inspired to start the group after hearing about a mother raising her eight-week-old baby. Who needed a clear formula due to allergies – and found that when she came to the shops and said she had stocks online, they had it. sold out.
Child’s corridor
“I said when I went back to the store I went down the child’s corridor. I was shocked, maybe it was 20 cans of different types. It was when you used to see it full of line until it arrived. Finally. And there was nothing, “he told the BBC’s Tech Tent radio program.
“I thought that if everyone just posted a picture. That would save parents and caregivers from driving around eight different stores trying to find us.”
Rebecca does not allow her team to buy and sell any Formula milk because of potential problems.
Infants who are breastfed are advised to have seven bottles a day from the age of four or five months, before they start eating solid foods. Each bottle is 210ml (7fl oz), requiring seven ounces of formula powder – so an 800g box lasts a week.
‘Complete panic’
Instagram saleswoman Mallory Whitmore, popularly known as theformulamom. Says there is a lot of concern among her 179,000 followers, many of whom are struggling to provide for their children.
He says: “Parents are depressed, anxious, angry, and many feel helpless.
They also discuss difficult decisions such as bottle-fed milk. Make their own (none of these options are recommended by health professionals). Or switch to cow’s milk at a younger age than requested.
Some go online to seek out illegal breast milk. Which is only recommended in dedicated services, where Formula milk can be tested first.
“The general feeling is completely shocking,” Mallory Whitmore said
He also says he sees formula boxes appearing at rising prices in online markets.
“People know that formula is an asset right now and that parents are desperate. Some people use that despair to put it in their pockets, and it’s scary.”
On the US-based eBay site I found one Formula milk for $ 34 (£ 27). On the Walmart website, the same price is advertised for $ 17. But prices vary greatly between budget and premium products.
There is also a worrying increase in people sharing “home” recipes on social media and YouTube in making their own milk. Using ingredients such as condensed milk, which is not good for babies.
American mothers warn of DIY formula amid shortages
Google’s search for formula at home has increased by 2,400% over the past 30 days, according to Google Trends.
“They say, ‘Oh, I have four kids and I’m doing my formula and everything is fine’.
