An Orillia mom is feeling defeated due to an ongoing infant formula shortage that dates back to the beginning of the pandemic.
Kali Sellwood is a mother to two young boys; one is two years old and the other is five months old.
“I’ve emailed Justin Trudeau to ask why the formula shortage is still an issue,” she said. “I’ve been told by a science and environmental person that it has to do with staffing and the whole COVID thing.”
Sellwood says she isn’t buying the “excuse,” explaining her five-month-old son has been through three formula changes already and sometimes she has to travel to Toronto to get the right product.
“It’s not even a special formula, it’s just the normal kind,” she said. “Every store you go to they never have it, so you have to grab two at a time when you do find it which gets pretty costly.”
Sellwood says things are getting worse, and she doesn’t see any light at the end of the tunnel.
“I almost feel like feel like children are being targeted,” she said. “Especially with the whole Advil and Tylenol shortage as well.”
Sellwood has tried calling companies that make formula and says she’s been told that they must ship their products to the United States first to help with their shortage.
“It’s excuse after excuse,” she said. “The government says these companies were closed for several months, but those several months are over now, and it shouldn’t take this long.”
Sellwood says the Canadian government officials that she contacted provided her with a tip sheet on how to change formula if needed.
“I shouldn’t have to change it every time,” she said. “That’s not fair to my son.”
The formula changes have, at times, left her children feeling ill.
“It’s stressful on me,” Sellwood says. “It makes me feel guilty every day for not being able to breastfeed and be successful with it.”
Sellwood encourages other mothers to voice their frustrations with the issue for the purpose of hopefully figuring out the cause and creating change.
“I know I’m not the only mom who is pretty stressed about this,” she said.
In a written statement provided to OrilliaMatters, Simcoe North MPP Jill Dunlop says the government is aware of certain infant formula shortages. She says it’s a result of the FDA-ordered closure of a plant in Michigan.
“In March 2022, the Ministry of Health added 11 products to the list of products available through the Inherited Metabolic Diseases (IMD) Program to provide patients with alternatives during this shortage,” she said.
“Parents can review the public advisory issued by the Government of Canada and should speak with their infant’s healthcare provider about suitable products if their usual products are not available.”
For more information about the infant formula shortage, Dunlop suggests parents click here.
The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit also has information on formula feeding here.
