4 babies admitted to SC hospital due to formula shortage

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Four babies are in a Charleston, South Carolina, hospital because of issues related to the shortage of baby formula.

Officials with the Medical University of South Carolina said there are four babies at Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital being treated currently.

One of the babies had to be sent to the hospital because it was given homemade formula. That is why parents should not water down formula or make their own, WCSC reports.

According to officials, the other three babies had to go to the hospital due to intolerances or allergies because their parents haven’t been able to find formulas that worked for them.

“The majority of what we’ve seen is when patients are on specialized formulas for feeding intolerance or milk protein allergies or something specific related to their disease state, and they try an alternative and it doesn’t go well,” said Pediatric Clinical Dietitian Kristi Fogg at Shawn Jenkins.

Fogg says those babies will be throwing up, or are not growing, because they are not tolerating the alternative formula.

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