FEELING GUILT AND SHAME AND TRYING EVERY TRICK IN THE BOOK TO GET THE FORMULA. THEY NEED IT’S A HASSLE BECAUSE SOMETIMES WE DON’T WE DON’T WE CAN’T FIND IT TEA HARDY SAYS EVERY DAY. SHE SEARCHES FOR HER SON MARCEL’S BRAND OF FORMULA. SO WE GOT FAMYIL MEMBERS ALSO LOOKING FOR HIS SPECIFIC FORM. HE WAS A PREEMIE. SO HE REALLY STILL HAS TO KIND OF TAKE THE FORMULA EVEN THOUGH HE’S ALMOST HE IS A YEAR OLD. HE STILL HAS TO TAKE THE FORMULA BECAUSE HIS DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. SO, YOU KNOW LIKE NORMAL PARENTS WOULD BE SWITCHING TO MILK BY NOW, BUT WE CAN’T SHE’S HADO T RESORT TO DRASTIC MEASURES AND I GOT TO THE STORE. WAS GONE THERE WASHE T TWO CANS THAT THEY HADER WE GONE. SO HE DIDN’T HAVE ANY FORMULA THAT NIG.HT AND LIKE I JUST USED ONE OF MY GRANDMA’S OLD TRICKS TO MAKE SO ME FORMULA WITH CARNATION MILK, BUT I WAS HURT RIGHT NOW. I HAVE ENOUGH TO PROBABL GYET ME THROUGH AT THE MOST TWO WEEKS AND THE SCHAEFER SAYS SHE HAS SEARCHED HHIG AND LOW FOR HER FIVE MON OLDTH SON’S FORMULA. I CAN’T FIND IT ANYWHERE. ENEV ON AMAZON.COM ON WALMART.COM. I WENT TO SAFEWAY.COM DAN CALLED GROCERY STORES FROM WESTMINSTER TO TO ANNAPOLIS TO PASADENA AND THEY ARE COMPLETELY OUT THERE'’ A LOT OF SHAME THAT’S HAPPENING, YOU KNOW. YOU KNOW, WHY AREN’T YOU BREASTFEEDING YOUR BABIES? ANNA RODNEY IS WITH THE BALTIMORE BASE GROUP MOM CARES. SHE SAYS MANY OF HER CLIENTS ARE HAVING A ROUGH TIME EMOTIONALLY WITH THE FORMULA SHORTAGE. SO THEY’RE FEELING LIKE THEY FEEL AND THEY HAVE NOT FEEL THAT LAL THE SUPPLY CHAIN IS WHAT’S FEELING BOTH HARDY AND SCHAEFER COULD NOT BREASTFEED BECAUSE OF MEDICATION THEY ARE TINAKG IF I WAS BREASTFEEDING I WOULD HAVE ALL THE MILK I NEEDED. IT’S TGH
Some Maryland mothers feel shame amid baby formula shortage
'They're feeling like they failed, and they have not failed at all. The supply chain is what's failing.'
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Updated: 5:22 PM EDT May 13, 2022
The baby formula shortage is becoming an increasingly dire situation for some Maryland families.| RELATED: Pediatrician shares the do's and don'ts amid baby formula shortageSome congressional Democrats, including Maryland U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, want manufacturers to speed up formula production. On Thursday, the White House shared a series of measures intended to increase formula access, from cutting back on red tape surrounding production to easing the process of importing formula from overseas and cracking down on price gouging.But there's still no timeline for when the shortage will end, which has many parents scrambling and asking what to do. The shortage has some women struggling with shame and guilt, and they are using every trick in the book to find formula.Tee Hardy said she searches every day for a specific brand of formula for her son, Marcelle."It's just a hassle because we can't find it," Hardy said. "We have family looking for his specific formula. He was a preemie, so he really still has to take the formula even though he's a year old because of his digestive system. So, like normal parents, we would be switching to milk right now, but we can't."Rossen Reports video below: How to find baby formula during the shortageHardy said she has had to resort to drastic measures."I got to the store and the two cans they had were gone. So, he didn't have any formula that night, and I just used one of my grandma's old tricks to make some formula with Carnation milk, but I was hurt," Hardy said.Edna Shaffer said she has searched high and low for her 5-month-old son's formula."Right now, I have enough to get me through, at the most, two weeks," Shaffer said. "I can't find it anywhere -- even on Amazon.com, on Walmart.com. I went to Safeway.com and I've called grocery stores from Westminster to Essex to Annapolis to Pasadena, and they are completely out."Video below: Panic as parents seek baby formula amid shortageAna Rodney, founder and CEO of the Baltimore-based group MOMCares, said many of her clients are having a rough time emotionally with the formula shortage."There's a lot of shame that's happening. 'Why aren't you breastfeeding your babies?'" Rodney said. "They're feeling like they failed, and they have not failed at all. The supply chain is what's failing."Both Hardy and Shaffer said they could not breastfeed because of medication they are taking."If I was breastfeeding, I would have all the milk I needed. It's tough," Shaffer said.
BALTIMORE — The baby formula shortage is becoming an increasingly dire situation for some Maryland families.
| RELATED: Pediatrician shares the do's and don'ts amid baby formula shortage
Some congressional Democrats, including Maryland U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, want manufacturers to speed up formula production. On Thursday, the White House shared a series of measures intended to increase formula access, from cutting back on red tape surrounding production to easing the process of importing formula from overseas and cracking down on price gouging.
But there's still no timeline for when the shortage will end, which has many parents scrambling and asking what to do. The shortage has some women struggling with shame and guilt, and they are using every trick in the book to find formula.
Tee Hardy said she searches every day for a specific brand of formula for her son, Marcelle.
"It's just a hassle because we can't find it," Hardy said. "We have family looking for his specific formula. He was a preemie, so he really still has to take the formula even though he's a year old because of his digestive system. So, like normal parents, we would be switching to milk right now, but we can't."
Rossen Reports video below: How to find baby formula during the shortage
Hardy said she has had to resort to drastic measures.
"I got to the store and the two cans they had were gone. So, he didn't have any formula that night, and I just used one of my grandma's old tricks to make some formula with Carnation milk, but I was hurt," Hardy said.
Edna Shaffer said she has searched high and low for her 5-month-old son's formula.
"Right now, I have enough to get me through, at the most, two weeks," Shaffer said. "I can't find it anywhere -- even on Amazon.com, on Walmart.com. I went to Safeway.com and I've called grocery stores from Westminster to Essex to Annapolis to Pasadena, and they are completely out."
Video below: Panic as parents seek baby formula amid shortage
Ana Rodney, founder and CEO of the Baltimore-based group MOMCares, said many of her clients are having a rough time emotionally with the formula shortage.
"There's a lot of shame that's happening. 'Why aren't you breastfeeding your babies?'" Rodney said. "They're feeling like they failed, and they have not failed at all. The supply chain is what's failing."
Both Hardy and Shaffer said they could not breastfeed because of medication they are taking.
"If I was breastfeeding, I would have all the milk I needed. It's tough," Shaffer said.
