Baby formula in Knox County, as in many parts of the nation, is in short supply, Cyndie Miller with Knox Public Health told the Mount Vernon News.
"If you look at the shelves, they look pretty bare," said Miller, director of the health department's Women, Infants and Children division.
Technology has helped parents find formula as parents post information on social media about stores with formula in stock, Miller said.
Calling the store may not be effective way to find formula, she said.
"We find that (social media are) really very helpful because of the number of calls coming in oftentimes you won't even have somebody pick up," Miller said.
Parents may want to check with their pediatricians, who sometimes have samples on hand, Miller said.
"Also, there are shipments coming in at different times," she said. "Just because it isn't there on a Monday, keep checking. It may be there on a Wednesday or a Thursday of that same week."
So far, there have no reports of hospitalizations in Knox County of infants because of a lack of baby formula, Miller said.
Health officials advise parents not to make their own formula.
"We would ask parents or grandparents to check with their baby's doctor if they're considering that at all because it isn't considered safe," she said. "You have little ones who are very specialized formulas. If you are going to cow's milk or goat's milk, or evaporated milk, there are deficiencies there that can put an infant at risk."
Switching to breast feeding is an option, said Heidi Myers, a certified lactation specialist at Knox Public Health.
"It is possible to re-lactate," Myers said. "If the mother hasn't been nursing and then wants to, she really needs to seek out an International board-certified lactation consultant to follow her through and make sure the child is getting the adequate milk that they need. The way milk production works is supply and demand. If the demand hasn't happened, the supply isn't there any more. So we need to build that supply up."
Breast feeding has many health advantages for babies, Myers said.
"Breast feeding is superb," she said. "There are so many benefits, we could be here all day long talking about them both for the mother and baby."
Those benefits include strengthening the baby's immune system, Myers said.
