Is homemade baby formula safe for infants and babies? That is the question on every parent's mind in the United States, with the nation currently experiencing a baby formula shortage. Many posts have circulated on social media platforms regarding homemade baby formula recipes, enticing parents to make their own formula to feed to their children.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has made it clear that homemade formula is not safe for babies to consume, warning parents not to feed infants with it. According to the AAP, the homemade formula might contain too many or not enough nutrients. That will be troublesome for the babies as the homemade formula can put them at risk of getting sick.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also released an advisory telling parents not to give their babies homemade infant formula because of serious health and safety concerns. These include food-borne illnesses, contamination, and nutritional imbalances.
Homemade baby formula is not safe
The federal agency does regulate all commercially available infant formulas, but the FDA does not regulate recipes for homemade formulas. Katina Little, a CPNP-PC with Novant Health, agreed with the FDA's stance, telling WFMY News that it is not safe for parents to make their own formula.
Little added that there are several reasons to go along with that, the biggest of which is the risk factor of not mixing the homemade formula correctly, which could lead to babies being given too little or too much of something they need.
According to Little, this could cause problems with the infant's brain development, digestion, weight gain, and many other issues. Little is telling parents, who are becoming desperate because of the baby formula shortage, that this too will pass.
Little said they would get to a point where they have enough, so the resources that parents can tap into will hold them over until they can get it. Little reminded parents to not think of having to resort to making the baby formula on their own or creating it on their own.
Little suggested to parents having trouble finding a baby formula to reach out to their pediatrician's office instead for help. Parents can also seek help from WIC or a lactation consultant for the needs of their children.
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Baby formula shortage to worsen in the coming months
The problem shows no signs of abating, though, with stockouts of baby formula still surging this year. Fox8 reported that a new analysis from Datasembly, a company that tracks grocery and retail pricing records, shows stockouts of baby formula hit 31 percent in April.
According to their data, inventory shortages for baby formula have worsened each month in 2022. And it is not about to get any better as they expect to see higher-than-average out-of-stock levels in the months ahead.
