A worsening shortage of baby formula, the main source of nutrition for many infants, has sent parents scrambling to find the products online and across state lines.
The shortage is especially acute for parents of babies who require specialty formulas to address allergies, as well as gastrointestinal or metabolic conditions.
In particular, worker absenteeism due to sickness or exposure to COVID-19 at production facilities and within the transportation sector slowed production and distribution, an industry trade group representative said. The supply of formula was relatively stable in the first half of 2021, but by July, the availability of formula on shelves began to dip, according to Datasembly. Over 30% of the national baby formula inventory was out of stock last month, up from 23% in January and 11% in November last year,
"What I do have a lot of confidence in is the general direction, which is that breastfeeding rates declined between, say, 2019 and 2022," Stone said."Because breastfeeding rates declined, that creates a natural upward pressure on demand for infant formula."Limited supplies have driven up prices beyond what parents have ever seen.
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