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History Professor Shuts Down People Arguing That Mothers Should Just Breastfeed Like In The Pre-Formula Days, Paints A Gruesome Picture Of What It Was Really Like
Earlier this year, a severe infant formula shortage hit the United States. This is a frightening situation for parents to find themselves in, as many babies rely on formula as a supplement to breastmilk or as their primary source of nutrients. Some people do not see the severity of the shortage and assume that formula is not a necessity when babies can just breastfeed like they did “back in the day”. To debunk this myth that all babies in the past were breastfed, historian of infant feeding Dr. Carla Cevasco went on Twitter and explained the importance of access to formula. Below you can read her informative thread, as well as some of the responses it has received from concerned readers. Then if you’re interested in hearing from a mom currently struggling with this frightening shortage, you can check out this Bored Panda piece next.
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Over the past few months, the United States has been dealing with a severe shortage of baby formula
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Some people don’t understand the importance of formula and assume babies can just go back to breastfeeding like they did in the past
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So historian Carla Cevasco went on Twitter to dispel the misconception that all babies used to rely on breastmilk
Image credits: Cevasco_Carla
Image credits: Cevasco_Carla
Image credits: Cevasco_Carla
Image credits: Cevasco_Carla
Image credits: Cevasco_Carla
Image credits: Cevasco_Carla
Image credits: Cevasco_Carla
Image credits: Cevasco_Carla
Image credits: Cevasco_Carla
Carla emphasized that there have been many reasons why babies in the past could not get all their needs met through simple breastfeeding
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She went on to explain that a lack of access to formula means the health of many babies will be jeopardized
Image credits: Cevasco_Carla
Image credits: Cevasco_Carla
Image credits: Cevasco_Carla
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Image credits: Cevasco_Carla
Image credits: Cevasco_Carla
This frightening infant formula shortage was sparked by several factors. The first problem was a recall of multiple brands of formula, after the Food and Drug Administration found traces of a harmful bacteria in a Michigan Abbott Nutrition plant. The plant, which produces 40% of the baby formula sold in the US, was shut down in February 2022. However, this plant alone did not cause the shortage. The pandemic has had an impact on infant formula supply as well, with supply and demand levels fluctuating constantly over the past two years. At the beginning of the pandemic, many parents began to stockpile formula, causing shortages. When the stores restocked, however, purchase levels decreased because everyone was working through what they had purchased early on. “This oscillation made planning for production extremely difficult,” says Lyman Stone, the director of research at the consulting firm Demographic Intelligence. “It was complicated to get an idea of the actual market size.”
The last factor exacerbating this infant formula crisis is America’s regulatory and trade policy. The Food and Drug Administration in the US has extremely strict guidelines and labeling requirements that prohibit most European brands of baby formula from being sold in America, mainly due to technicalities. One study even found that many of those European products are just as healthy, if not healthier, than American brands, but getting them into the country can be incredibly challenging. While some politicians in the US want to rely less on imports and increase production within the country, this shortage is a perfect example of how vulnerable that makes the country.
When it comes to the health of our children, the government should do everything in their power to make sure kids are safe and protected. This frightening formula crisis is a result of several unfortunate factors, but that doesn’t make it any easier for parents in the US to handle. Hopefully, the supply of formula will be increased as soon as possible, and parents will never have to worry about where their babies’ meals are coming from again. Let us know how you feel about this situation in the comments, and if you have any suggestions for where parents can access formula, feel free to share.
Readers have responded to Carla’s thread with more examples of the importance of formula
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Matthew Daniel 3 years ago
Often the problem seems to be old white men. Stop telling women how their body does or should work. Stop telling women that others should decide their reproductive rights. Stop telling women that their pain for whatever reason will only last 10 minutes so you don't need pain relief. As one woman on Quora said "A vasectomy only takes 10 minutes, so surely men don't need anaesthesia". Stop telling women to breastfeed and then demonising them for feeding in public. Stop telling women that breast is best. We all know and agree with that, you aren't educating them. There are reasons why someone might not be breastfeeding. None of them are your business unless it's because you don't provide parental leave like a civilised person or country.
Poeha 3 years ago (edited)
A Dutch guy said it didn't matter that America had a milk shortage, cause women should just breastfeed. I said: If you give bottle milk and all of a sudden there is no bottle milk anymore, you can't start producing milk anymore. So stupid. It was no problem for my wife, so others have to do it too. We call em breast feed maffia.
Load More Replies...
Plenty Pineapples 3 years ago
When my first baby was born, term baby, healthy baby, he latched on beautifully. I couldn't understand why he wouldn't stop crying. I will forever be grateful to the midwife who realised that I had no milk. If she hadn't, he would have starved. I was an exhausted new mum and didn't think to check. I was attached to the pump pretty much for a week after he was born, day and night, every 3 hours, trying to get my milk to come in. Rather than enjoying my beautiful new baby I felt guilty for not being able to "feed him properly". Obviously we ended up giving him formula but that wasn't without problems. Not every formula is suitable for every baby and often you to try a few different brands. But there was no one to advise as the government wants to promote breastfeeding (I live in Australia where healthcare is universal, I got a free lactation consultant at the hospital and a visit by a midwife after going home). Without formula, my babies would have starved to death.
Zophra 3 years ago
Same here. No milk. Lots of post-partum anxiety and an unfortunate "positive" feedback loop.
Load More Replies...
Bittersweetie 3 years ago
EXACTLY! it's not always a given and it's EXTREMELY personal!!
Load More Replies...
Amy Taylor 3 years ago
This is probably the BEST explanation ever. I went through every single roadblock breastfeeding...I also ended up with a double mastitis and got really sick. Before I had kids, I thought breastfeeding was simply just deciding to do it and it worked. Boy, was I wrong, lol! I'm really over sanctimommies telling other women how to feed their babies. If it hadn't been for formula, my baby would've starved to death.
PandaGoPanda 3 years ago (edited)
I was born, premature, to a seriously-ill mother in the days before modern baby formula was in use. I was raised on diluted Carnation evaporated milk in accordance with the doctor's recommendation. Might not have been as good as breastmilk, but it was certainly an adequate substitute.
Momma Stu the Clownfish 3 years ago
After having my third child, a lactation consultant came into the room and lectured me that “breast was best”. I’d had a bilateral mastectomy two years prior. When I told her this, and to read my chart before spouting off, she then proceeded to continue to lecture me on how breast is always best, and I should have considered my “limitations as a mother”. Just stop with the lectures and propaganda. Fed is fed.
Memere 3 years ago
Wow, that was totally uncalled for. What a b*tch!! I would have slapped that idiot into the middle of next week.
Load More Replies...
AnxietyRiddenMom 3 years ago
I just said to my husband yesterday that I bet the WIC office is having a heyday with this formula shortage, making new mother's feel like c**p for not breastfeeding. When my daughter was born, I had a WIC appointment and my little sister went with me. She was 17 or 18 I think. Anyways, here I am, a new mom, filled with hormones and emotions of the chart, and they are acting like I'm committing murder for not breastfeeding. My sister had enough when I started crying. I was lucky she was there as back then I was very timid and would have likely let them bully me for much longer than they had already without saying anything but crying. My daughter went nearly 24 hours with nothing to eat after delivery because I was trying so hard to breastfeed and they wouldn't even offer any alternative. My husband finally went off on the nurses and said bring my daughter a f'n bottle right now. I was physically unable to do it. I was made to feel like a terrible mother because I couldn't do it.
Jasper Cool 3 years ago
I had a pretty similar experience. I'm sorry you went through it. Not one single nurse or lactation expert told me it was ok to bottle feed and just use formula. They kept bringing my son back in for me to try to feed him and he couldn't latch. Struggled for an entire month. I'm incredibly grateful to WIC for providing supplemental formula or my kiddo wouldn't have made it but I'm so tired of how much we pressure and force pregnant women and moms into things. I felt like cattle.
Load More Replies...
Cold Contagious 3 years ago
1st I'd like to say that I breastfed my 1st child, but I was extremely ill in the hospital for more than a week due to an emergency cesarean, that the doctor caused to be emergent. Her meconiun bowel was left inside my uterus and I had a horrible infection. They even cut her within a 1mm of her eye when they were taking her out of me. I was so ill that I couldn't hold her to feed her. The nurses would do it and fuss at me when I asked if they could give her formula because I couldn't stay awake. They made my husband breastfeed her from me while I was out of it as well. I felt like a cow, or a machine I was completely detached from it as my temperature was almost 105 F. It was a horrible way to be introduced to breastfeeding and motherhood. I was fine after I finally got home and breastfed her for two years, but decided to use formula for my other two children. She would never take a bottle for any reason. She refused to have any other nipple in her mouth. Cont. Below.
Cold Contagious 3 years ago
I know from my grandma that did foster care and adopted my mother and aunt, that in the 50's they used Carnation Milk in the can, watered it down, and added Karo Syrup to help with any possible constipation, due to the richness of the milk. That was a pretty typical alternative to breast milk back then.
Load More Replies...
Carol Emory 3 years ago
I was producing enough milk, my son just didn't take to breastfeeding. I tried pumps, but could not get enough to satisfy him. We moved to formula until he had digestive issues with them. Finally, we started giving him whole cows milk with vitamin supplements and added rice cereal to the mix. When he reached the point where he had enough teeth, we took him off bottle feeding completely and fed him baby food. He preferred it. You do what works for your child. It's not about follow tradition or doing what is natural. It's about keeping the kid alive.
Diane Knight 3 years ago (edited)
Only check with a doctor, as not all 'methods' are healthy, My sister did other 'stuff' , made her son allergic to many other things, and because babies need a certain amount of 'fats' for brain development, caused some damage. Her doctor told her to get him back on formula to prevent more alergic reactions to common items in his environment. (laundry soap, cereals, juices). If not a doctor or have knowledge of nutrition stay with 'traditional' lanes. I was given cows milk too early, myself, and had an intolerance to milk growing up. Sickly kid, til 3rd grade. 'Keeping the kid alive' but impaired? In the mid-80s, it was revealed that fats were needed in a baby/toddler's diet to promote good brain health. Leave some decisions with those who know more , some children's futures depend on it. Brain damage/impairment can not be reversed.
Load More Replies... Matthew Daniel 3 years ago
Often the problem seems to be old white men. Stop telling women how their body does or should work. Stop telling women that others should decide their reproductive rights. Stop telling women that their pain for whatever reason will only last 10 minutes so you don't need pain relief. As one woman on Quora said "A vasectomy only takes 10 minutes, so surely men don't need anaesthesia". Stop telling women to breastfeed and then demonising them for feeding in public. Stop telling women that breast is best. We all know and agree with that, you aren't educating them. There are reasons why someone might not be breastfeeding. None of them are your business unless it's because you don't provide parental leave like a civilised person or country.
Poeha 3 years ago (edited)
A Dutch guy said it didn't matter that America had a milk shortage, cause women should just breastfeed. I said: If you give bottle milk and all of a sudden there is no bottle milk anymore, you can't start producing milk anymore. So stupid. It was no problem for my wife, so others have to do it too. We call em breast feed maffia.
Load More Replies... Plenty Pineapples 3 years ago
When my first baby was born, term baby, healthy baby, he latched on beautifully. I couldn't understand why he wouldn't stop crying. I will forever be grateful to the midwife who realised that I had no milk. If she hadn't, he would have starved. I was an exhausted new mum and didn't think to check. I was attached to the pump pretty much for a week after he was born, day and night, every 3 hours, trying to get my milk to come in. Rather than enjoying my beautiful new baby I felt guilty for not being able to "feed him properly". Obviously we ended up giving him formula but that wasn't without problems. Not every formula is suitable for every baby and often you to try a few different brands. But there was no one to advise as the government wants to promote breastfeeding (I live in Australia where healthcare is universal, I got a free lactation consultant at the hospital and a visit by a midwife after going home). Without formula, my babies would have starved to death.
Zophra 3 years ago
Same here. No milk. Lots of post-partum anxiety and an unfortunate "positive" feedback loop.
Load More Replies... Bittersweetie 3 years ago
EXACTLY! it's not always a given and it's EXTREMELY personal!!
Load More Replies... Amy Taylor 3 years ago
This is probably the BEST explanation ever. I went through every single roadblock breastfeeding...I also ended up with a double mastitis and got really sick. Before I had kids, I thought breastfeeding was simply just deciding to do it and it worked. Boy, was I wrong, lol! I'm really over sanctimommies telling other women how to feed their babies. If it hadn't been for formula, my baby would've starved to death.
PandaGoPanda 3 years ago (edited)
I was born, premature, to a seriously-ill mother in the days before modern baby formula was in use. I was raised on diluted Carnation evaporated milk in accordance with the doctor's recommendation. Might not have been as good as breastmilk, but it was certainly an adequate substitute.
Momma Stu the Clownfish 3 years ago
After having my third child, a lactation consultant came into the room and lectured me that “breast was best”. I’d had a bilateral mastectomy two years prior. When I told her this, and to read my chart before spouting off, she then proceeded to continue to lecture me on how breast is always best, and I should have considered my “limitations as a mother”. Just stop with the lectures and propaganda. Fed is fed.
Memere 3 years ago
Wow, that was totally uncalled for. What a b*tch!! I would have slapped that idiot into the middle of next week.
Load More Replies... AnxietyRiddenMom 3 years ago
I just said to my husband yesterday that I bet the WIC office is having a heyday with this formula shortage, making new mother's feel like c**p for not breastfeeding. When my daughter was born, I had a WIC appointment and my little sister went with me. She was 17 or 18 I think. Anyways, here I am, a new mom, filled with hormones and emotions of the chart, and they are acting like I'm committing murder for not breastfeeding. My sister had enough when I started crying. I was lucky she was there as back then I was very timid and would have likely let them bully me for much longer than they had already without saying anything but crying. My daughter went nearly 24 hours with nothing to eat after delivery because I was trying so hard to breastfeed and they wouldn't even offer any alternative. My husband finally went off on the nurses and said bring my daughter a f'n bottle right now. I was physically unable to do it. I was made to feel like a terrible mother because I couldn't do it.
Jasper Cool 3 years ago
I had a pretty similar experience. I'm sorry you went through it. Not one single nurse or lactation expert told me it was ok to bottle feed and just use formula. They kept bringing my son back in for me to try to feed him and he couldn't latch. Struggled for an entire month. I'm incredibly grateful to WIC for providing supplemental formula or my kiddo wouldn't have made it but I'm so tired of how much we pressure and force pregnant women and moms into things. I felt like cattle.
Load More Replies... Cold Contagious 3 years ago
1st I'd like to say that I breastfed my 1st child, but I was extremely ill in the hospital for more than a week due to an emergency cesarean, that the doctor caused to be emergent. Her meconiun bowel was left inside my uterus and I had a horrible infection. They even cut her within a 1mm of her eye when they were taking her out of me. I was so ill that I couldn't hold her to feed her. The nurses would do it and fuss at me when I asked if they could give her formula because I couldn't stay awake. They made my husband breastfeed her from me while I was out of it as well. I felt like a cow, or a machine I was completely detached from it as my temperature was almost 105 F. It was a horrible way to be introduced to breastfeeding and motherhood. I was fine after I finally got home and breastfed her for two years, but decided to use formula for my other two children. She would never take a bottle for any reason. She refused to have any other nipple in her mouth. Cont. Below.
Cold Contagious 3 years ago
I know from my grandma that did foster care and adopted my mother and aunt, that in the 50's they used Carnation Milk in the can, watered it down, and added Karo Syrup to help with any possible constipation, due to the richness of the milk. That was a pretty typical alternative to breast milk back then.
Load More Replies... Carol Emory 3 years ago
I was producing enough milk, my son just didn't take to breastfeeding. I tried pumps, but could not get enough to satisfy him. We moved to formula until he had digestive issues with them. Finally, we started giving him whole cows milk with vitamin supplements and added rice cereal to the mix. When he reached the point where he had enough teeth, we took him off bottle feeding completely and fed him baby food. He preferred it. You do what works for your child. It's not about follow tradition or doing what is natural. It's about keeping the kid alive.
Diane Knight 3 years ago (edited)
Only check with a doctor, as not all 'methods' are healthy, My sister did other 'stuff' , made her son allergic to many other things, and because babies need a certain amount of 'fats' for brain development, caused some damage. Her doctor told her to get him back on formula to prevent more alergic reactions to common items in his environment. (laundry soap, cereals, juices). If not a doctor or have knowledge of nutrition stay with 'traditional' lanes. I was given cows milk too early, myself, and had an intolerance to milk growing up. Sickly kid, til 3rd grade. 'Keeping the kid alive' but impaired? In the mid-80s, it was revealed that fats were needed in a baby/toddler's diet to promote good brain health. Leave some decisions with those who know more , some children's futures depend on it. Brain damage/impairment can not be reversed.
Load More Replies... You May Like Parents Get Wrecked Online After Complaining Over Passengers Resting While They Struggle With 3 Kids Americans Shared 33 Things Other People Need To Know About What’s Going On In The US
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