Caitlin Joyce, 22, also studies relationships after spending hours a week searching for a formula. Last week, she and her mother drove up and down the south coast of Massachusetts for two hours, scouring every Target, Walmart, or grocery store they saw along the way — “and they had nothing,” said Ms. Joyce. Though she hasn’t breastfed her baby in six months, she’s scoured online mother groups for tips on getting milk production going again.
dr. Casey Rosen-Carole, director of the Breastfeeding and Lactation Medicine Program at the University of Rochester Medical Center, said the physiology of breastfeeding “isn’t particularly resilient because once it’s over, it’s very hard to rebuild.” .” The prospect of women trying to respond in response to the formula crisis worries her, she said, because mothers can exacerbate stress by forcing their bodies to do something that’s difficult, if not impossible.
dr. Alison Stuebe, an OB-GYN and leading scientist in infant and young child nutrition at the University of North Carolina’s Gillings School of Global Public Health, said the idea that any woman can produce all the breast milk her baby needs” not based on reality. Not everyone can make all the insulin they need. That’s why there’s a disease called type 1 diabetes – and we’re not saying, ‘Well, if you just tried harder, you’d take that drug. Do not need.'”
Some mothers stare at the prospect of being bottle-free and invent alternative ways to feed their babies. When her daughter was born, Zumely Ebanks, 23, had to be separated from her due to medical issues and was unable to breastfeed. Her baby got used to bottle feeding, she said, and stopped breastfeeding at 3 months. Ms. Ebanks, who lives in Houston with her mother and baby, called the shortage “alarming.” “If there’s no formula, I wouldn’t know what to do,” she said.
So far, she’s been able to find her favorite formula at her local HEB grocery store, but if that changes, she plans to switch to “older traditions,” such as rice water and atole, a corn-based drink. Health experts have warned parents not to resort to homemade baby food, but women fear they have no other options.
As the shortage of formulas continues, breastfeeding experts continue to worry not only about the babies, but also about the mental health of mothers.
“When it comes to your child and when it comes to, you know, your newborn — your baby — and they can feed and put food in their mouths, that’s tough,” said Ms. Roy. “You feel like you’re a bad mother.”
Maria Jimenez Moya and Colleen Cronin reporting contributed.