Baby Formula Shortage in the US - Babies Going Hungry in the US?
There is currently a baby formula shortage in the United States.
Reading into the problem based on what is published by the FDA it seems like this is a problem that has been building for quite some time.
The recalls started in 2021
Certain products were recalled voluntarily by the company, but in February Abbott Nutrition halted production of baby formula completely.
They were in charge of nearly 40 percent of the baby formula generated in the US.
Baby Formula in the US is "in house" and made in the USA.
There still seems to be formula but parents are being forced to change brands
While this may not seem like a big deal, this can be dire for kids with allergies. Formula fed babies are not supposed to change brands as it often causes upset stomachs.
Babies are getting sick and parents are panicking.
The US government is stepping in and speaking to "major manufacturers" but really, reading the report on what they are "doing" about the problem basically translates to: "We know there's a problem, and we will watch the problem to make sure we don't exacerbate the problem with paperwork.
There is no forecast on when baby formula will be abundant again.
What do you think about this issue? Is it a centralization issue (too much trust in one major producer of formula), or is it just further proof that the US is headed for demise?
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The United States has big problems with market consolidation. Things like baby formula should be coming from smaller locally owned factories instead of huge conglomerates.
I also wonder why so many babies are on formula. The women I know are into natural foods, breast feeding and more traditional care.
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About 80 percent of mothers in the US Breast Feed at birth according to the CDC.
Here is a linked article written by a pediatrician that answers a bit of the question you are alluding to: why are moms not giving babies more "traditional" care
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/baby-formula-shortage-mothers-breastfeeding-blamed-rcna28595
In case you don't want to read the article, the problem seems to be when moms can't breastfeed, or don't make enough milk.
If you look in the US at how fast moms have to go back to work, and how little post natal care we receive, you will perhaps understand a little about why women have to supplement with formula.
80 percent of US mothers breastfeed at birth
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My wife didn’t produce enough when pumping so we supplemented with formula, although a different formula entirely than the crap here but that’s another story and not everyone can afford what we used.
The supply chain issue is a problem everywhere and I honestly think it's horrible that people are suffering from the shortage. On a side note, I think the people without babies are worried about pet food...or that was what I saw on the news.
Give it a few years and if nothing bad trashes the supply chain, then it should be fixed but don't expect anything in the short-term.
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It was cat food that was missing around here.
I know these are "first world" problems but it really does feel like the demise of the US.
I don't ever remember shortages, excess is how they keep us all "in check"
But now there are paper good shortages, cat food shortages BABY FORMULA SHORTAGES, and here in my big City, at the beggining of the year there were trash strikes and no one got their trash picked up for weeks.
It was a huge mess.
Blackouts too...
I laughed about the shortages until we got to baby formula shortage, now I'm a little worried about what might come missing next.
waters her garden, prays water keeps
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Yea the world is devolving into a huge mess as the politicians send over money to foreign countries when we can't even solve things here.
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This is terrible news. Our baby is one month old and on baby formula. We give him HiPP Dutch Stage 1 Organic Bio Combiotic Infant Milk Formula With DHA https://thebestfromjapan.com/hipp-dutch-stage-1-organic-bio-combiotic-infant-milk-formula-with-dha-800g and so far we have plenty of formula to spare. If necessary, we can order more as the baby is growing and consuming more.
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Everytime this happens in the states, Canadians ignorantly assume we have the same supply chains.
My significant other works in supply chain logistics, and monitors all of the prices for a store.
There is not a baby food shortage, 1 brand is having issues exporting from Texas due to increased demand in the states near their factory.
Supply and demand seems to be a foreign topic to a lot of people...
Step 1 Production
Step 2 Packaging
Step 3 Warehousing & Trucking Logistics
Step 4 Distribution (handled by retailers)
Step 5 Retail
The issue that is sensational is between Step 2 and 4, and has a logical explanation.
I would bet you 5 Hive, that if you go to every store in your city, and check Amazon prime, you wouldn't be experiencing any shortage of anything after checking the entire supply chain for availability.
I think people make the mistake of thinking Walmart and the big chain stores are somehow not effected by the supply chain and the basic bottlenecks of retail sales.
The issue is not that there isn't formula, the issue is that there are shortages in what formula some babies are used to, and the result, is babies who are uncomfortable.
Most are still fed.
The bigger issue is babies who have special needs and need specific formulas.
Most babies in the United States are breastfed at birth, and most babies can handle the stress of the formula changes
The point of this article is that the supply chain is failing some babies.
Of course there isn't a baby food shortage
As baby food can be easily made at home. The shortage is in the formula.
Also. Canada what?
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Just like with the meat packing thing, it’s bad when we rely so heavily on one company for this stuff. That’s the problem with centralization and monopolies! I feel for the parents for sure but hopefully we can get to a better place after this. Likely not, it sounded like they loosened things for the company and will likely worsen the formula quality.