The White House promised it’s working hard to solve the national baby formula shortage. But for families with newborn babies and infants, a solution can’t come soon enough.
As parents and caregivers get down to their last formula supply, people are getting more and more desperate in their search.
Gina Cheeseman from Sound Beach, New York, drove for hours with her 10-month-old son, looking for formula. She found a lot of bare shelves.
“This is a nightmare,” she said.
Cheeseman is one of many who have become consumed with looking for baby formula. Many have taken to social media to share their frustration with the shortages they’re dealing with.
Tensions and emotions have run high for many as the search for formula appears to be never-ending. In most instances, merchants are unable to say anything more than they are dealing with shortages and back orders. In others, inventory is so low, stores have set limits on how much formula can be bought.
When Kayzie Weedman was unable to find formula, she fed her baby cow’s milk. She then learned her baby, Palmer, is apparently allergic to cow’s milk and broke out in a painful rash.
“What are we gonna do? How are formula moms gonna feed their kids?” she asked.
Another mother told Inside Edition she enlisted the help of family members in Wyoming, North Dakota, Texas and New York to search for formula. “Luckily we got two cans out of all of those states,” she said.
She then found someone selling formula online at a huge markup. “There is a special place in hell for someone like this,” she said.
Some mothers are stepping up to help, pumping extra breast milk and donating to milk banks. The New York Milk Bank said it has seen a 10% increase in donated breast milk, but there is going to be more demand than that.
The milk is pasteurized and bottled, then shipped to hospitals and mothers who cannot breastfeed or have run out of formula.