Feed the Babies Project Fights Baby Formula Shortage in the United States

Nurses for Newborns has been assisting nearly 200 families in the United States who are unable to feed their babies due to the nationwide formula shortage, a crisis in which people of color and people with low incomes are disproportionately affected.

Projections from the Department of Agriculture indicate that it may take as long as ten weeks for store shelves to be replenished in the U.S. To address the shortage and provide solutions for families, the St. Louis Integrated Health Network (IHN) and a host of partners have launched the Feed the Babies Project, a community-wide collaborative.

According to the St. Louis American, the project will address three main priorities. They are to provide breastfeeding support for birthing people and families, distribute pasteurized donor human milk (PDHM), and provide nutrition support and counseling for families.

Feed the Babies Project aims to provide breastfeeding support

While breastfeeding presents a beneficial and safe alternative to infant formula, it is not always possible for parents. Certified lactation counselors and local doulas through the Missouri Community Doula Council will support efforts to educate, support, and encourage breastfeeding for those who can.

Okunsola M. Amadou, Jamaa Birth Village founder and CEO and Missouri Community Doula Council member, said, "As we shed light on the difficulties, we must make sure that the solutions and the possibilities are readily accessible and tangible for Black families. We want to ensure that the challenges aren't so daunting and that we don't plant these seeds of hopeless, traumatic experiences.

Amadou added that this partnership with the Feed the Babies Project would help them offer these solutions to their community as so many families have been affected by the infant formula shortage, and time is of the essence. She said they look forward to providing equitable resources for breastfeeding counseling/support to many needy families.

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Feed the Babies Project looks to mass purchase donor milk

There will also be mass purchasing and storage of PDHM to be distributed to St. Louis families in need. They are families with infants 0-6 months wherein breastfeeding is not an option. 

According to Freedom Kolb, The Milk Bank executive director, "The Milk Bank is proud to partner with the Feed the Babies Project to provide immediate relief for families during the formula shortage crisis. This collaboration is an expansion of our work to give babies their best chance to survive and thrive.

The third priority of the Feed the Babies Project focuses on families with infants from 6 months to 12 months. These families will receive nutrition counseling and support that will provide them with alternatives to infant formula.

According to Dr. Maya Moody, Missouri Chapter of American Academy of Pediatrics president-elect, feeding babies donor breast milk from human milk banks that take voluntary steps to screen milk donors and safely collect, process, handle, test, and store the milk is a safe alternative for those that are not able to produce enough of their breast milk, or for those impacted by the current formula shortage.

She added that nutrition and breastfeeding counseling are also highly recommended during this baby formula crisis.

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