Doctor offers advice to families amid formula shortage

FRUITA, Colo. (KJCT) - As more families face struggles to find baby formula, some local pediatricians offer advice for parents amidst the shortage.

The Western Colorado Pediatrics said overall, there haven’t been too many issues with their patients not being able to find formula.

″Fortunately we’ve been pretty lucky here in the Grand Valley I think,” said Dr. Cecilia Weaver. “Our patient population hasn’t had too much difficulty with finding formula. There have been some limitations with people finding their specific formula.”

As for finding specific formula, Dr. Weaver recommends patients be willing to try a new formula if they can’t find the formula they prefer.

“That flexibility is really important,” said Weaver. “We tell families to start with looking for an equivalent formula for the one that they’re using currently and if they can’t find it, they might need to be a little flexible as far as trying a different formula that’s available.”

Weaver recommends that if parents aren’t able to find any formula at a typical big supermarket store, to try searching for formula at smaller stores and drug stores. She said sometimes people have had more luck with the smaller stores.

If you’ve tried multiple stores and still haven’t had much luck finding formula, Weaver also recommends checking online at different social media groups and finding out where other parents may be finding formula. But she warns everyone to be cautious when finding things online.

“There’s a lot of different things they’re finding online, so we’re really trying to encourage families to remember to try and do the most safe thing first,” said Weaver.

As for what’s safe to do, Weaver discourages parents from making their own formula, or trying to dilute it with water to make it last longer.

Weaver said if parents have any doubt about any kind of formula or have any questions regarding what to feed their baby, they should talk to their pediatrician.

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