Photo: www.HealthyChildren.org
The infant formula shortage is still ongoing – according to a new report from LendingTree research site ValuePenguin.com. 35% of American families with an infant who typically use formula said they had difficulty obtaining it, with African American families disproportionately impacted.
https://www.valuepenguin.com/infant-formula-shortage-study
Here are the key findings:
52.9% of U.S. households with an infant younger than 1 say they were affected by this year’s formula shortage. In the first week of October 2022 – the latest data available – 35.2% of households with an infant which needs formula said they had difficulty obtaining it in the past seven days, highlighting it remains a substantial problem.
4 in 5 Black households with an infant (80.1%) say they were affected by the shortage. That compared with 52.3% of Latino households, 51.1% of white households and 29.5% of Asian households. By marital status, 78.2% of divorced or separated households with an infant said they’ve been affected, and 65.5% of those whose highest education level is a high school degree or GED diploma say they’ve been impacted by the shortage.
Nevada has the highest rate of households with an infant that say they’ve dealt with this formula shortage. 85.6% of these households cited this in Nevada, followed by 77.2% in Louisiana and 74.9% in Oregon. Meanwhile, Minnesota was far and away the state with the lowest rate of households with an infant that say they’ve dealt with it at 10.3%. The next closest states are Kansas (22.0%) and North Dakota (23.2%).
More than half of households with an infant dealing with the shortage say they’ve gotten formula at a store different from where they usually shop (55.1%) or changed to a different brand (52.1%). Meanwhile, 32.9% of these households increased breastfeeding.
Full report and methodology here: https://www.valuepenguin.com/infant-formula-shortage-study
While the national media has moved on from the story, the ongoing formula shortage has left many Americans families feeling anxious about how they’ll feed their babies, but help is available for parents feeling overwhelmed, says Nick Vin Zant, health care expert at LendingTree. “If you can’t find formula anywhere, call 211 to talk to a community resource specialist who can connect you with local food pantries and other sources of formula or donated breast milk.” He adds, “If you need hypoallergenic or medical specialty formula which may not have a readily available substitute, talk to your doctor. They may have samples you can use in the short term, and they can also submit an urgent request for specialized formula to Abbott Nutrition, which is releasing some specialty formulas on a case-by-case basis.”
