Feeding babies safely is one of the most important things families can do for the health of their babies. When a safe source of food isn't available, that is an emergency and needs immediate support. Thousands of families in the United States have faced this emergency in isolated situations, and in 2020 a mass shortage began that has impacted thousands of families.
In order to protect infants in the future, and prevent the delayed and often incomplete support that families faced in this shortage, we need information regarding the impact of this shortage, what solutions helped families, and where families felt they didn't have enough support. The data collected in this research will help the research team advocate for changes and for protections for families in the United States.
Every baby deserves to be safely fed. In order for that to happen, infant feeding professionals, doctors, food banks and nutrition programs need to have a cooperative plan.
Once this survey data is collected, it will be analyzed to provide information to doctors, public health organizations, infant feeding specialists, nutrition services and families about what can be done to prevent much of the stress and frustration that happened this time. This information will help develop a collaborative response program for future shortages, whether those shortages happen in specific areas or nation-wide.
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