Breastfeeding or Formula Feeding
Healthy Start and community partners are dedicated to ensuring that you have Healthy options for feeding your infant!
This is why Healthy Start compiled key details to help moms ensure their babies have healthy feeding choices.
FDA Advises Parents and Caregivers Not to Buy or Give Mother’s Touch Formula to Infants
September 6, 2022, Food & Drug Administration Advisory
CNN Health US formula shortage persists and will ‘take a while to fix’
By Deidre McPhillips, CNN
Updated 5:10 PM EDT, Thu July 21, 2022
Breastfeeding
There are many community resources to help you explore prenatal breastfeeding education, navigating breastfeeding challenges—including milk supply, exploring relactation and finding sources for human milk.
Lovie’s story:
Lovie Jewell Jackson Foster—mother, wife, yoga teacher, and social butterfly—chose a combination of breastfeeding, infant formula, and human donor milk to nourish her three children. In 2014, Lovie gave birth to twins, Magnus and Justus. Her breastmilk supply alone wasn’t enough for her growing boys, so supplementing with formula worked for Lovie and her family.
Eight years later, as she awaited the adoption of her third child, Lovie took steps to relactate and found a human donor milk resource. Her adopted daughter, Angel, was born in 2021 and has been breastfed by Lovie and supplemented with human donor milk and formula ever since. Click here for guidance on human donor milk.
Healthy Start Center for Urban Breastfeeding (CUB)
The CUB is a comprehensive breastfeeding support program to support Black mothers in Allegheny County with their breastfeeding needs and questions. Our staff can provide support in-home, virtually, or by telephone triage. The support is provided 24/7, free of charge to our participants.
For more information regarding HSCUB, view our downloadable flyer.
If you are in need of immediate support, please page our CLC on-call by calling 412.545.2022 and select option 1.
Expecting?
Click here for FREE access to prenatal breastfeeding education.
Click here to schedule a consultation with Ngozi Tibbs, IBCLC or another lactation professional if you are formula feeding or supplementing.
Other Resources:
- Pittsburgh Black Breastfeeding Circle
- Breastfeeding Center of Pittsburgh
- WIC (Women Infants and Children)
- Allegheny County Health Department Breastfeeding Help Line at (412) 687-2243
Formula Feeding or Supplementing
What can you do if you are running low or out of formula?
Option No. 1
Contact your pediatrician.
Your pediatrician may have some samples that they can provide to help you until you are able to get more formula. They may even other recommendations for you.
Option No. 2
Contact your local WIC office.
WIC is a great local resource that assists families in providing nutritional food choices to children and their pregnant moms. They also provide healthy feeding for your family and information on formula recalls as well.
Option No. 3
Breastfeeding
For mothers who are pregnant, we have resources and programs to help you begin your breastfeeding journey. Formula may have been your main choice, but we believe its important to know all the healthy feeding choices you have for your infant.
Are there things I should NOT feed my child during the formula shortage?
DO NOT make your own formula. It’s not safe and there is no way to ensure your child is receiving all the nutrients that breastfeeding or store-bought formula provides.
DO NOT add extra water to stretch the formula to last longer. This can cause a nutritional imbalance for your infant.
DO NOT use recalled or expired formulas. This can be very harmful to your baby.
We understand that this is a lot to take in.
You already have so much on your plate. Healthy Start is committed to assisting moms and other caregivers during this time, and we will offer you great tips and resources along the way!
Other Important Information You Should Know
During this time, remember feeding your child healthy choices is the best form of feeding