American parents struggling with severe baby formula shortage

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American parents are facing a new crisis: the shortage of baby formula.

While the media ramps up its coverage of the war in Ukraine and the leak of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court draft that overturns the landmark legislation, parents across the United States are reporting bare shelves at many major retailers and grocery store chains when seeking to buy baby formula for their children.

As reported by the Daily Wire, popular retailers including Walmart, Target, and others have instated limits on the purchase of baby formula to prevent shoppers from stocking up and hoarding the products. The situation is similar online, with most online retailers completely out of stock of baby formula, which is only available through third-party sellers at marked-up prices.

Speaking to ABC News, a mother named Shauna Bowman complained that her 11-month son, Jacob, needed a very specific brand due to his allergies. Bowman told the host of Good Morning America that she has been unable to find Nutramigen, a baby formula, “for the last four or five months.”

Moms are facing a "terrifying" shortage of baby formula, which has "become impossible to find" as Biden's supply chain crisis persists pic.twitter.com/vOsypBfN0u

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) May 6, 2022

The mom said that the situation has only worsened over the past month, where the baby formula has “just become impossible to find.”

The unavailability of products is nothing particularly new for shoppers who have been forced to resort to wishlisting a number of products over the past couple of years since the onset of the pandemic due to supply chain issues. However, the lack of baby formula has hit parents particularly hard particularly as infants who require specific brands to treat their allergies and various intolerances struggle to find food.

Unlike luxury items like computer upgrades and even toilet paper, there are no substitutes for baby formula for parents who rely on specific brands.

Bowman was not the only mom to complain about the problem. Speaking to Fox Business, a Michigan mom told the network that her usual Amazon order for formula was delayed and ultimately canceled. When she went out to find formula, she was frustrated to discover that at least four major stores in her area did not carry any of the products.

Another mom from New York told Fox Business that her infant, who lost a lot of weight after the baby was born, needed formula in the baby’s diet because she was unable to produce enough breast milk.

“When we ran to the local Target one day to get some [formula] just days after she was born, the shelves were completely empty,” the mother said. “My heart literally sank.”

The Daily Wire reported:

FOX 29 reported that retail data firm Datasembly shows 40%-50% of major formula brands sold out last week in 26 states. The states most affected by the shortages are Iowa, Missouri, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas.

Numerous complaints about the baby formula shortage are flooding social media, with thousands of moms and dads pleading on Facebook and Twitter to their local governors to fix the situation.

Some have even called upon the Biden White House to solve the issue, but the administration has remained tight-lipped on the topic, preferring instead to talk about how much money it’s going to give to fight Russians in Ukraine.