3 SC babies released after being hospitalized because of baby formula shortage. 1 still at MUSC

Three of the four babies hospitalized at Medical University of South Carolina due to a nationwide baby formula shortage have been released from the hospital.

Heather M. Woolwine, spokesperson for the Charleston hospital, said last week HIPAA rules restrict what information she can release but generally pediatric dieticians were trying to find substitute formulas the babies can tolerate.

The issues that were treated include babies being fed homemade formula or a new formula parents substituted.

“Many of the children we treat have complex health conditions including nutrition so it’s hard to nail down an exact number. But we can safely say at least four have been related to the formula shortage,” she said.

MUSC spokesperson Carter Coyle said in an email the hospital asks people not to call the Emergency Room with formula questions.

“Parents need to be reaching out to registered dietitians, pediatricians and primary care / health care providers,” Coyle said.

Dr. Candi Jump, MUSC pediatric gastroenterologist, said initial symptoms that a baby is reacting to formula would be vomiting or diarrhea and feeding refusal.

“But we should not wait until an infant is symptomatic, any infant that is receiving formula that is improperly mixed or homemade should stop that practice and seek care from their primary care provider,” Jump said.

Jump said this is not the same as food poisoning.

“We are worried about imbalances in the nutrients of the formula not infection,” Jump said.

The first shipment of hypo-allergenic formula from Europe arrived on Air Force planes in the U.S. Sunday, one of several flights planned to help relieve the shortage of formula, the Associated Press reported..

Formula should begin appearing in stores starting as early as this week, government officials said.

The formula was taken to a Nestle distribution hub, offloaded into FedEx semitractor-trailers and taken to a Nestle distribution center about a mile away where the company will do a standard quality control check before distributing the supplies to hospitals, pharmacies and doctor’s offices, according to an administration official on site.

Meanwhile, Mother’s Milk Bank, a nonprofit developed by the Medical University of South Carolina, has seen a recent 20% to 25% increase in donations that, once screened, will be made available to families, according to a press release from the university.

This story was originally published May 23, 2022 at 3:31 PM.