Parents across the U.S. are starting to feel some panic as they struggle to find alternatives amid a nationwide baby formula shortage.
Things are particularly bad in the Midwest and southern U.S., where parents have been complaining the most about not being able to find formula.
Reports of formula shortages started circulating in the fall as supply chain issues forced by the pandemic kept retailers from stocking their shelves. The shortage only go worse in February, when Abbot Nutrition issued a massive recall for Similac, Alimentum and EleCare products possibly linked to deadly bacteria infections in infants.
Since then, parents have reported difficulties locating their preferred brand of formula. Some parents who switched to alternatives have even been forced to look for other options as formula of any brand is getting increasingly harder to find.
"We've noticed it being difficult to find maybe a couple months ago — two, three months ago — and then just recently we can't find it," San Francisco resident Irene Anhoeck told CBS News. "We've tried all the local Targets. We checked Costco, Costco online, Walgreens, Long's. Can't find it anywhere."
According to data analyzed by Axios, 29% of baby formula inventory was out of stock nationally for the week of March 13, up from 18% when the year started and 3% a year earlier.
Of course, some states are feeling the shortage more than others. Parents in Tennessee have been hit the hardest, according to baby formula site OrganicBabyFormula.com. The website ranked states most affected by the formula shortage based on geotagged Twitter data in the last month, tracking tweets, hashtags and direct keyword phrases.
The analysis found that parents in Tennessee tweeted phrases and hashtags such as #babyformulashortage, #formulashortage, #babyformularecall, "can't find baby formula," "sold out of baby formula," "shortage of baby formula," more than parents in any other state.
The top 10 states affected by the shortage include:
1. Tennessee
2. Kentucky
3. New Jersey
4. Ohio
5. Michigan
6. Oregon
7. Missouri
8. Alabama
9. Mississippi
10. Arizona
The FDA said it was keeping an eye on any formula shortages, especially because infant formula is the only source of nutrition for many newborns and babies.
"We will continue discussion with Abbott Nutrition and other infant formula manufacturers and consider all tools available to support the supply of infant formula products," the agency said in a statement in March.
Parents struggling to find their regular formula should contact their child's health care provider for recommendations on changing feeding practices. The FDA warns against buying formula online that comes from outside the U.S., as it has the potential to be counterfeit.
The Infant Nutrition Council of America acknowledged the shortage, telling CBS that challenges across retail supply chains, from transportation and logistics to some anecdotal evidence suggesting pantry-loading behaviors, have put increased pressure on in-store inventory.