Walgreens starts RATIONING baby formula as supply chain crunch hits new parents: 29% of the top-sell

[mystery-ak]

Walgreens starts RATIONING baby formula as supply chain crunch hits new parents: 29% of the top-selling formulas are out of stock at stores across the US

    A national shortage of baby formula brought on by pandemic-related supply-chain issues has forced US retailers such as Walgreens to ration the product
    The company - the second-largest pharmacy chain in the US behind CVS - said it is limiting customers to three formula purchases at a time, at its 9,021 locations
    A spokesperson said the shortage stems from an 'increased demand and various supplier issues'
    A recent study by Datasembly, a company that tracks retail records, revealed 29 percent of all top-selling formulas are out of stock at stores across the nation

By Alex Hammer For Dailymail.Com

Published: 17:30 EDT, 8 April 2022 | Updated: 18:02 EDT, 8 April 2022

A national shortage of baby formula brought on by pandemic-related supply-chain issues has forced US retailers such as Walgreens to ration the all-important product.

The company - the second-largest pharmacy store chain in the United States behind CVS - said Friday that amid the supply-chain crunch, it is limiting customers to three infant and toddler formula product purchases at a time, at its 9,021 US locations.

A company spokesperson told DailyMail.com that the restrictions, already in effect, stem from an 'increased demand and various supplier issues,' as it was revealed that 29 percent of all top-selling formulas are out of stock at stores across the nation.

The shortage of the product, which roughly three-quarters of infants in the US receive at some point within their first six months, has parents panicked.

'I would normally buy four to six cans at times to get us through the month and I would have to limit that to two,' Samantha Modely, of Memphis, told local outlet WREG-TV Thursday.

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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10701087/Walgreens-starts-RATIONING-baby-formula-supply-chain-crunch-hits-new-parents.html

[Kamaji]

Wow.  That would be panicking me if I were the parent of a small infant.

[libertybele]

How about back to basics? Gee, let's see, breast milk??  If I recall, years ago wasn't formula made out of evaporated milk that was diluted and Karo syrup? Or rice milk and Karo syrup?  Infants of years ago survived just fine.

Same with disposable diapers -- we used cloth diapers with baby safety pins and plastic pants and actually went through the work of washing them!  Yes, we used disposable diapers when we went out for convenience, but at home or when we didn't have the money to buy disposable diapers, cloth diapers were a lifesaver.

[Kamaji]

How about back to basics? Gee, let's see, breast milk??  If I recall, years ago wasn't formula made out of evaporated milk that was diluted and Karo syrup? Or rice milk and Karo syrup?  Infants of years ago survived just fine.

Same with disposable diapers -- we used cloth diapers with baby safety pins and plastic pants and actually went through the work of washing them!  Yes, we used disposable diapers when we went out for convenience, but at home or when we didn't have the money to buy disposable diapers, cloth diapers were a lifesaver.

Breast milk isn't an option for some women - through no fault of their own - and evaporated milk and karo syrup may be useful stop-gaps in that the infants won't die of starvation, but they are hardly adequate substitutes.

[libertybele]

Breast milk isn't an option for some women - through no fault of their own - and evaporated milk and karo syrup may be useful stop-gaps in that the infants won't die of starvation, but they are hardly adequate substitutes.

A woman lactating can always store breast milk for others in need (it is done all the time).  There are some women who have problems producing milk, but usually those symptoms resolve or, like I stated, there are women who share their breastmilk with others.  Women who work can also pump their milk and refrigerate it so that their child has milk.  Yes, it is more work and not convenient, but it is better than seeing your infant crying because they are hungry.

Evaporated milk and Karo syrup was used years ago period. Babies did just fine. Rice milk.  Coconut milk.  Government has gotten involved (American Pediatric Society, etc.) and God forbid if we need to go back and use what is available in order for our infants to survive. 

Baby formula is being rationed anyways --- so finding an alternative may be needed.

[mystery-ak]

How about back to basics? Gee, let's see, breast milk??  If I recall, years ago wasn't formula made out of evaporated milk that was diluted and Karo syrup? Or rice milk and Karo syrup?  Infants of years ago survived just fine.

Same with disposable diapers -- we used cloth diapers with baby safety pins and plastic pants and actually went through the work of washing them!  Yes, we used disposable diapers when we went out for convenience, but at home or when we didn't have the money to buy disposable diapers, cloth diapers were a lifesaver.

With 5 kids my dad was in charge of making the formula..all 5 of us survived...I can still remember him mixing it, filling bottles and putting them into the sterilizer..lol

As far as diapers...I used cloth diapers for my now 43yo son...disposables were not that popular then and what they did have were too expensive for us.....2nd son..I used disposables..lol  what a time saver.

[Kamaji]

A woman lactating can always store breast milk for others in need (it is done all the time).  There are some women who have problems producing milk, but usually those symptoms resolve or, like I stated, there are women who share their breastmilk with others.  Women who work can also pump their milk and refrigerate it so that their child has milk.  Yes, it is more work and not convenient, but it is better than seeing your infant crying because they are hungry.

Evaporated milk and Karo syrup was used years ago period. Babies did just fine. Rice milk.  Coconut milk.  Government has gotten involved (American Pediatric Society, etc.) and God forbid if we need to go back and use what is available in order for our infants to survive. 

Baby formula is being rationed anyways --- so finding an alternative may be needed.

Obviously alternatives will have to be found, but the focus should be on the fact that it shouldn't have to be the case at all; that a rationally run country like the U.S. should never have shortages of something as basic as baby formula.

As for the rest of it; until you've walked in the shoes of a woman who cannot lactate, don't be so cavalier to dismiss it as some sort of ill-bred modernist failure.  It happens, and it happens more often than is appreciated, and ideological political groups like La Leche do not make life any easier for them, particularly when they get into their shaming routines.

I have a family member who faced all of these problems personally.  It wasn't fun, it wasn't fair, and having access to good baby formula was important.

[libertybele]

With 5 kids my dad was in charge of making the formula..all 5 of us survived...I can still remember him mixing it, filling bottles and putting them into the sterilizer..lol

As far as diapers...I used cloth diapers for my now 43yo son...disposables were not that popular then and what they did have were too expensive for us.....2nd son..I used disposables..lol  what a time saver.

For the most part disposables were too expensive for our budget as well. When our first grandson was born it was quite a task to find cloth diapers so that our DIL would have a back up and same with plastic pants to go over them. I don't even know if they're available??

I just looked it up ... there are recipes for DIY formulas --- yes, it is more work .... oh well. 

https://www.simplyhappenings.com/homemade-goats-milk-baby-formula-recipe/

https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/video-homemade-milk-based-baby-formula/

[libertybele]

Obviously alternatives will have to be found, but the focus should be on the fact that it shouldn't have to be the case at all; that a rationally run country like the U.S. should never have shortages of something as basic as baby formula.

As for the rest of it; until you've walked in the shoes of a woman who cannot lactate, don't be so cavalier to dismiss it as some sort of ill-bred modernist failure.  It happens, and it happens more often than is appreciated, and ideological political groups like La Leche do not make life any easier for them, particularly when they get into their shaming routines.

I have a family member who faced all of these problems personally.  It wasn't fun, it wasn't fair, and having access to good baby formula was important.

Excuse me, but I am not being cavalier nor dismissing it as a failure! Please don't put words in my mouth. Nowhere in my post did I make that comment or imply so. I've known several women who have had problems and it is heartbreaking. The hospitals around here have lactation clinics to help and as I stated sometimes breastmilk is shared (it is tested for impurities, etc. and stored).

My main point is it's a little more work and less convenient but formula and substitutes can be made.

You are correct, this should not be happening in the U.S.A. along with a host of other things, but it is.  It is time to fend for ourselves, seek alternatives and get Big Brother out of our lives.

[mountaineer]

My mother couldn't breastfeed; my siblings and I were raised on regular cow's milk with Karo syrup, warmed up and put in a bottle. We did okay, healthwise.

[Smokin Joe]

My mother couldn't breastfeed; my siblings and I were raised on regular cow's milk with Karo syrup, warmed up and put in a bottle. We did okay, healthwise.

Same here.