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Many moms can't 'just breastfeed' during formula shortage

“You have working mothers, you have mothers who are always on the go, mothers who don’t just get to sit at home and produce as much milk as they would like."

NEW ORLEANS — For many moms who can’t find formula for their infants, breastfeeding is not an alternative option. For many reasons, some mothers can’t produce enough milk — or any at all.

Nicole Gallardo Deano is a part-time bartender at the NOPSI in the Central Business District, a full time realtor, and a very full time mom of two daughters, with baby number three on the way.

“I’m due this October; October 4th,” said Gallardo Deano who is also a New Orleans Mom contributor. 

She’s already anxious about how she’ll fill bottles for her new son.

“It’s scary, it’s scary. I have a few more months to go, but nothing is looking good.”

Even in the midst of a formula shortage, Gallardo Deano can’t rely on breastfeeding alone. Breast cancer took that away from her in 2011, before the birth of her first daughter.

“I was lucky enough to keep both of my breasts. But with all the radiation and lumpectomy, it damaged all of my milk ducts. So I cannot produce at all from one breast,” she said.

Gallardo Deano said she was able to partially breastfeed for six months with her first child, and just three with her second child. She’s not sure how much she’ll be able to produce for her new addition.

She’s one of millions of moms who can’t “just breastfeed,” as many critics have recommended in the wake of the formula shortage.

Gallardo Deano said she’s thought about stocking up before her son is born, but finds many shelves sparsely stocked.

“It’s hard, you can’t even find it online right now. I’ve signed up for websites and notifications, but it just seems like a dead zone right now,” she said.

According to CDC data, 19 percent of babies’ diets are supplemented with formula in their first two days of life. 36 percent are supplemented before six months.

While there’s a long list of medical reasons moms rely on formula, socioeconomics plays a role too.

Studies show low-income moms have less access to breastfeeding support. In addition, they typically get back to work sooner and sometimes have limited breaks.

“You have working mothers, you have mothers who are always on the go, mothers who don’t just get to sit at home and produce as much milk as they would like," Gallardo Deano said.

For those moms, and for cancer survivors like Gallardo Deano, the solution to the formula shortage isn’t so simple. She just hopes it’s delivered sometime before her son is.

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