Breastfeeding encouraged to alleviate ongoing baby formula shortage

While major national outcry over baby formula shortages has quieted over the last several months, many families in Windsor-Essex are still struggling to find any for their children.

Some parents are driving more than three and a half hours to find formula, while others are looking to Facebook moms’ groups to locate supply.

“The moms are kind of banding together and helping each other out the best that we can,” said expectant mother Jazmine Browning.

“I think that basically we're doing all we can at this point.”

Browning said there’s fear a baby formula shortage in Ontario is worsening rather than improving.

“It's all formula,” Browning explained. “Even behind the counter hypoallergenic formula, everything.”

“We actually have people going into the grocery stores every morning every day and actually taking pictures of the shelves, showing what's in stock, low stock calling the stores they actually have no answers for us.”

She continued, “Moms are going city to city meaning Leamington to Windsor. Windsor to Kingsville. I've even heard Niagara Falls. People traveling to Niagara Falls. Moms are just being told to find what you can and just hold on. Like, there's nothing we can do.”

On its website, Health Canada says the total supply of regular infant formula “remains sufficient to feed all Canadian babies. There are however fewer products and formats available, as manufacturers work to compensate for an increased demand for their products.”  

It notes “Health Canada is working closely with infant formula manufacturers to increase product supply, including those intended for hospitals and special medical use that are not available at retail.” 

Browning told CTV News, there are many moms, expectant mothers, and others who have hypoallergenic formula that is out of stock on backorder.

“So it's even a bigger issue than just feeding your baby,” she said. “There's babies that are actually in pain and need certain things that they just have no access to right now.”

The website encourages breastfeeding if possible and to maintain or increase breastmilk supply if parents are combining bottle-feeding and breastfeeding.

Expectant mother Jazmine Browning and lactation consultant Alyson Hergott in Windsor, Ont. on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023. (Chris Campbell/CTV News Windsor)Windsor-Essex certified lactation consultant, Alyson Hergott said more needs to be done to encourage that approach.

She’s offering free consultations to combo-feeding parents, telling CTV News more support is needed to encourage moms to try breastfeeding.

“Windsor-Essex has some of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the province,” Hergott said. “And from my experience in private practice, it's not because families don't want to breastfeed. There's a huge gap in care for them achieving breastfeeding support.”

“Everyone gets one visit two days after you've had a baby and that's just not enough. Unfortunately, the mentality that once a lot of people haven't had success breastfeeding there becomes kind of a community of formula feeding as the norm. And it's really hard to break that once it becomes a community norm.”

Hergott said, “Breastfeeding is natural, but it's not easy. I always tell my clients just like walking, How many times do you fall before you get the hang of it? Breastfeeding is the exact same.”

According to The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) website, breastfeeding support is provided from the prenatal period until weaning by telephone and videoconference only until further notice, due to Covid-19.

“With early intervention, we can usually overcome any obstacle if we're quick to get to it,” Hergott said.