Editor’s Note: Katie is a telephone triage nurse with a background in women’s and children’s health. She is also the mother of two neurodiverse teens with medical complexities. -Cara L. Coleman, JD, MPH
Breast, bottle, or both? Deciding how to feed your baby can be a deeply personal choice, but for many, it is also affected by factors they can’t control.
One event that affected baby feeding for many in 2022 was a severe shortage of infant formula. The shortage was caused partly by supply issues from the COVID-19 pandemic and was worsened by the shutdown of a major formula factory.
In this month’s Pediatrics, “Breastfeeding Trends Following the US Infant Formula Shortage” looks at how the formula shortage affected breastfeeding rates in the United States (10.1542/peds.2024-067139).
What was the focus of the study?
The study looked at breastfeeding initiation rates (the number of people who choose to start breastfeeding when they have a baby), and how these rates changed during the formula shortage.
What types of questions did this study ask?
- Did more people start breastfeeding during the shortage than we would have expected (based on earlier statistics)?
- Were the baby-feeding habits of different groups of people (based on race, income, and where they lived) affected in different ways?
- How did this affect the differences already noticed between these groups?
What did they find?
- Breastfeeding initiation rates increased across all groups during the formula shortage, and stayed higher, even once the formula shortage was over.
- The increase in breastfeeding was greater among:
o Those with less formal education
o Black women
o Those receiving WIC (Women, Infants, & Children) nutrition help and/or Medicaid
o Residents of counties with fewer people
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- Other groups (white women, Hispanic women, and those with higher incomes or living in more populated areas) experienced smaller increases.
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As a result, the formula shortage made the gap between breastfeeding rates in these various communities smaller than it was before.
Why is this important?
Breastfeeding can improve parent and infant health. Yet rates of breastfeeding are still below target goals, even among parents who want to breastfeed. The infant formula crisis, while extremely stressful, showed that there is the possibility for improvement in current breastfeeding rates.
What can you do with this article?
- Share with your child’s doctor. If you have concerns about how best to feed your baby, your doctor’s office can help.
- Share with other parents who are navigating feeding choices and/or limitations. Parents may wish to create backup plans in case their preferred method of infant feeding becomes unavailable.
- Consider becoming involved with efforts supporting better laws to protect parents in the workplace. For example, you can vote for lawmakers who support family leave flexibility, and other parent-supportive job laws.
- Explore the types of feeding support (lactation support, doulas, milk banks, food pantries, or formula banks) that exist in your community. If you are not sure where to start, 211 is a nationwide number you can dial that will connect you with agencies in your area. They are often a good source of information for parents who need help feeding their babies. Keep this information handy for yourself and/or share with families who may need it.
