For months, parents searched multiple stores and supermarkets looking for formula. Online groups formed where people could share formula with each other. And the government set up Operation Fly Formula to import formula from other countries.
Now, just as Abbott has reopened and started production, a flood hit Sturgis, Michigan, where its formula manufacturing plant is located, causing it to shut down yet again. While Abbott emphasized that it produced enough formula to weather this second closure, this is disheartening for parents who are still feeling the effects of the shortage, especially in rural communities.
Over the last few months, I’ve received several questions from patients and media outlets about how to safely feed babies during this shortage. The main No. 1 question I’ve been asked?
Can I make my own baby formula?
My answer is an emphatic no! It is very dangerous to try and make your own formula. Seventy years ago, parents made their own formula and babies routinely got very sick from it. Homemade formulas can have contaminates because they haven’t been properly handled but more importantly, they don’t contain the proper nutrients that babies need in this critical stage of life.
